Father Segundo Montes was born in Valladolid, Spain on May 15, 1933. He began his life as a Jesuit in 1950 and worked at the Externado San José where he taught Salvadorian students. José Ricardo Espinoza Guerra, a former student, was the commander of the solders who would eventually kill Father Montes on November 16, 1989 as part of the Jesuit massacre in El Salvador. Father Montes was a human rights advocate and founded the Human Rights Institute at UCA (IDHUCA).
