The Martyrs of El Salvador
The word "martyr" means "witness" for our faith. Sometimes when someone witness their faith in action they are killed for their faith. Many, many people unknown to us were martyrs in El Salvador.
But there were some church leaders who were killed by the military of El Salvador.
We know these martyrs by name:
Archbishop Oscar Romero
Bishop of San Salvador who spoke out against the violence and who supported the rights of the poor.
He was shot and killed while celebrating
mass on
March 24, 1980
At his funeral, attended by thousands of people, forty people were killed
by the army to terrorize the people.
Check out these links:
Father Ralph and Father Jack celebrate Mass with the Mission Group at the place where Bishop Romero was killed + We visited Bishop Romero's home
The American Religious Women
Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel, and Jean Donovan were three religious sisters and one laywoman who worked with the poor of El Salvador. On December 2, 1980 they were abducted, raped, shot and buried in a shallow grave by members of the El Salvador National guard.
The Jesuit Martyrs
On November 16, 1989 gunmen from the Salvadoran Army entered the University of Central America and murdered six Jesuit Priests, their housekeeper and her daughter.
Ignacio Ellacuria
Segundo Montes
Ignacio Martin-Baro
Joaquin Lopez y Lopez
Juan Ramon Moreno
Amado Lopez
Elba Ramos
Celia Marisela Ramos
We visited the garden where their bodies were found
