November 16, 2024, will mark thirty-five years since Ignacio Ellacuría, S.J., Ignacio Martín-Baró, S.J., Segundo Montes, S.J., Juan Ramón Moreno, S.J., Joaquín López y López, S.J., Amando López, S.J., their housekeeper, Elba Ramos, and her 15 year-old daughter, Celina Ramos, were murdered at the University of Central America in San Salvador, El Salvador.
The lives and loss of these martyrs have significantly influenced the Ignatian family in the United States and throughout the world. Jesuit and other Catholic institutions have re-defined what it is to be universities, high schools, parishes, etc., in light of the martyrs, discerning new ways of addressing social justice issues locally and abroad. Across the Ignatian family, new ways of proceeding have developed over thirty-five years. The Ignatian Solidarity Network itself is a direct product of the spirit of the martyrs, formed by ISN founders like Bob Holstein and Fr. Charlie Currie, S.J., in response to the tragic murders of the martyrs at the hands of many individuals who received training at the former U.S. Army School of the Americas.
Visiting El Salvador to honor the 35th anniversary of the UCA Martyrs and all those whose lives were innocently lost throughout El Salvador’s civil war will be an opportunity to reflect on the past and also look forward. Through this pilgrim journey, we will encounter saintly people—those lost to war and violence and Salvadoran people of faith who continue the struggle to build a more just and peaceful society today. We are honored to work in partnership with Christians for Peace in El Salvador (CRISPAZ), who will assist us in our pilgrim experience throughout our time in El Salvador.
