Monday, November 16 marks the 20th anniversary of the brutal murders of six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter at the University of Central America (UCA) in El Salvador.
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| The 2008 Canisius group who went to the teach-in and protest |
Campus ministry will commemorate this anniversary in two ways. On Monday, students will be stationed around campus during the change of classes with information on the Jesuits. Their faces will be painted white and they will be wearing black shrouds to commemorate those who were killed.
Also, 13 students and two staff members will attend the Ignatian Family Teach-in and School of the Americas Rally in Columbus, GA on November 20-22. Participants will spend two days learning about justice issues with students of other Jesuit institutions and conclude the weekend with a protest of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as the School of the Americas. Graduates of the School of the Americas were found responsible for the deaths of the Jesuits and Archbishop Oscar Romero.
The six Jesuits who were killed were a diverse and courageous group of social workers, theologians, philosophers, and educators. All worked to educate and organize the Salvadoran people in midst of a civil war.
For more information on the significance of the anniversary, please see the following resources:
Dean Brackley, S.J. on the anniversary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHywPAqj4Eo
A two-minute video of Gillian Ahlgren, PhD, who reflects on how the death of the UCA Martyrs has impacted her approach to Ignatian pedagogy.
www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/about-xavier/Jesuit-Martyrs.cfm
A brief background from the Jesuit Resource website about the UCA Martyrs.
http://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/jesuit-education/jesuit-terms-m.cfm
Submitted by: Sarah Signorino, associate campus minister, campus ministry
