In December four of our sisters—Srs. Maureen Fox, Loretta Schaff, Sara Marks, and Ruth Bernadette O’Connor (as pictured to the right)—had the opportunity to join the 117 people on the SHARE pilgrimage to El Salvador. The pilgrimage commemorated the 35th anniversary of the assassination of four churchwomen—Maryknoll Srs. Maura Clark and Ita Ford, Ursuline Sr. Dorothy Kazel, and lay missionary Jean Donovan. In addition to visiting the sacred site where the women were killed, the group also visited the place where Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated as well as other sites associated with the struggles of the Salvadoran people.
Sr. Ruth Bernadette found it hard to capture in words what the trip meant to her. She spoke particularly of the sufferings of the Salvadoran people. “Each day we listened to many stories of the sufferings of these people and their fight for their rights to truth, justice, sovereignty, and sustainability,” she explained. “I was so impressed by their strength and their inspiring stories of survival and hope for a better future for their families.” A visit to the Wall of Remembrance had an especially deep impact on Ruth. “I will never forget the Wall of Remembrance bearing 30,000 names of people martyred or disappeared during those terrible years,” Ruth recalled. “One man wanted to point out for us the name of his father. It was touching to hear him tell his story.” Speaking of the martyrdom of the four churchwomen, Ruth described their witness as “testimony to the power of God to transform madness into hope.”
The four young church women who were raped and murdered 35 years ago in El Salvador. Top row l-r: Sr. Ita Ford, Jean Donovan; Bottom l-r: SRs. Maura Clarke, Sr. Dorothy Kazel
Burial site of the martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero
A Salvadoran gentleman indicates the name of his father who is one of the many "disappeared" in El Salvador.
Srs. Loretta Schaff and Maureen Fox shared their remembrance of their experiences in poetry.
Memories of the experience still surface frequently
and we continue to process our experience
which has been difficult to put into words at times
. . . for the experience was intense and deep
especially at the sites of the Monument of Truth and Memory,
of Oscar Romero's assassination,
the murder of the 6 Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter,
and
the place of the 4 women's horrific death.
We also were shown the place of the drowning of Sr. Carol Piette
who worked with the women but is little known (outside El Salvador)
except for the people that knew her.
She is included in all their memorials.
The 5 women are very much alive in the spirit of the people.
We were also grateful for the generosity of community
to be able to be generous in all donations that were solicited while there.
Upon our return, the monies that were "left over"
were given to Fruit Trees and Women's Leadership with CONFRAS
in care of SHARE/El Salvador in Berkeley, CA.
We are forever grateful for this opportunity to experience a small taste of the history and people of El Salvador.
There are parts of us that will never be the same because of this experience.
and we continue to process our experience
which has been difficult to put into words at times
. . . for the experience was intense and deep
especially at the sites of the Monument of Truth and Memory,
of Oscar Romero's assassination,
the murder of the 6 Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter,
and
the place of the 4 women's horrific death.
We also were shown the place of the drowning of Sr. Carol Piette
who worked with the women but is little known (outside El Salvador)
except for the people that knew her.
She is included in all their memorials.
The 5 women are very much alive in the spirit of the people.
We were also grateful for the generosity of community
to be able to be generous in all donations that were solicited while there.
Upon our return, the monies that were "left over"
were given to Fruit Trees and Women's Leadership with CONFRAS
in care of SHARE/El Salvador in Berkeley, CA.
We are forever grateful for this opportunity to experience a small taste of the history and people of El Salvador.
There are parts of us that will never be the same because of this experience.
