Relato de Primera Mano de la Conmemoración de Mujeres en la Iglesia en El Salvador

Escrito el 2 de diciembre por Chantel de Alcuaz, este es un relato de primera mano sobre las actividades en los cuales participaron los delegados de SHARE en el trigésimo aniversario de la muerte de 4 Mujeres de la Iglesia del E.E.U.U en El Salvador.

Delegados copiando los nombres

Hoy, el aniversario del martirio de las cuatro norteamericanas de la Iglesia, empezamos con un viaje al lugar donde los cuerpos de Ita, Maura, Jean, y Dorothy fueron encontrados. En este sitio, han construido una iglesia y un monumento. Al momento que los delegados de SHARE se acercaron al sitio, nuestros tres vehículos entraron en un gran silencio para honrar y contemplar las vidas y herencia de estas mujeres a quienes venimos a celebrar. Nos juntamos, rebosando de la iglesia, con una comunidad internacional, hermanas Maryknoll, padres, misionarios, Hermanas Uruline, delegaciones estudiantiles de E.E.U.U, y hasta los familiares de Maura Clark, y muchos más que vinieron a orar y celebrar la religion Eucaristia.

Gracias a los músicos y cantantes, La misa estaba llena de jubilo. Después de la misa nos reunimos al monumento en frente de la iglesia para rezar.


“He estado deseando a asistir una misa en El Salvador por mucho tiempo, y para tener mi primer misa en El Salvador en este lugar tan sagrado donde las cuarto mujeres fallecieron fue algo inesperable y mas de lo que me pude creer,” dijo Janet McLaughlin uno de los delegados de SHARE.

Después de un almuerzo delicioso en el café Maya, los delegados viajaron al Parque Cuscatlan para ver el monumento de Memoria y Verdad y para escuchar a la Madre Guadalupe Mejia, Presidente de CODEFAM (Comisión para los familiares de los desaparecidos).”Si, yo las conocí [las mujeres norteamericanas]… Mataron sus cuerpos, pero sus espíritus están en cada uno de nosotros…mientras que seguimos luchando,” dijo Madre Guadalupe. 

Después de escuchar su discurso inspirador de sus luchas personales y la lucha de construir un monumento, nos dieron rosas y nos acercamos al monumento. Delegados hablaron del valor y valentía de la Madre Guadalupe, a quien su esposo fue asesinado. Hablaron del esfuerzo de ella para acompañar a los que han perdido sus seres queridos. Los delegados se movieron lentamente por la pared del monumento, tomando fotos, copiando nombres (muchas de las Mujeres de la Iglesia), reflexionando y rezando.

Todavía se puede honrar las 4 Mujeres de la Iglesia de E.E.U.U.: usa nuestra guía para planear un evento para  este fin de semana o haz una donación a SHARE para ayudarnos conferirles a la nueva generación de mujeres en El Salvador. Para estar mas al día con SHARE, síguenos en twitter@SHAREelsalvador o uñese a nuestro grupo en Facebook.

First Hand Account of Churchwomen Commemoration Events in El Salvador

Written on December 2, 2010 by Chantal de Alcuaz, this is a firsthand account of the activities SHARE delegates participated in on the 30th Anniversary of the deaths of the 4 US Churchwomen in El Salvador.

Today, the anniversary of the martyrdom of the four North American Churchwomen, we began by journeying to the place where the bodies of Ita, Maura, Jean and Dorothy were found.  A church and memorial have since been constructed on the site.  As the SHARE delegation neared the site, our three vehicles entered into prayerful silence to consider the life and legacy of the women we came to celebrate. We gathered, overflowing from the church, with an international community, Maryknoll sisters, fathers, and lay missionaries, Ursuline Sisters, high school delegations from the US, and even family members of Maura Clark, and many more, to pray and celebrate the Eucharist. Read More »

Remembering the 4 US Churchwomen

“It’s been a very big positive event. For people who have been doing this work for years, it is a great chance to share and remember. All of our groups are involved in this work and the struggle somehow,” said Jose Artiga, SHARE Executive Director, from the event honoring the 4 US Churchwomen at the site where they were killed in El Salvador.

The women, who dedicated their lives to walking with poor and marginalized communities in El Salvador, were killed 30 years ago today on December 2, 1980.

SHARE launches revamped solidarity gift program

Let SHARE help with your holiday shopping! Our solidarity gifts programs makes it easy for you to donate to SHARE and give a gift to a friend or loved one at the same time. All you have to do is choose which SHARE project you want to support and enter the name and email address of the person receiving your gift. We will email a customized letter to your friend or loved one to inform them that a solidarity gift was made in his or her honor.

We just updated our solidarity gift page to include 5 exciting, new projects. Ranging from school supplies to seeds for organic gardens, your donation will help SHARE support the people of El Salvador in their struggle for economic and social justice!
Make your donation to SHARE a solidarity gift today!

Have questions? Contact Meg at meg@share-elsalvador.org or 510-848-8487.

Delegation Day 2: Ballet and La Pequena Comunidad

Delegates joined the Folkloric Ballet in dance

Yesterday delegates visited La Pequena Comunidad, a Christian Base Community  of women religious that has been active since the late 1970s. They have walked with poor and persecuted Salvadoran communities before, during and after the war. It was a busy day of bonding, reflection, and expression through song and dance.

Watching a performance of the Folkloric Ballet was a highlight for the group. Shirley Tung from Pax Christi summed up the ballet performance like this:  ”I thought it was just a wonderful experience because I was able to share the spirit of the people that were dancing as well as all the people that were applauding for them. I have six left feet when it comes to dancing, but who cares. It was sharing in their happiness. ” Read More »

Remembering the 4 US Churchwomen: An Article from the National Catholic Reporter

This article was originally published in the National Catholic Reporter on November 30, 2010. It is a well written  commemoration of the 4 US Churchwomen and the impact they have had on generations since their deaths, thirty years ago today on December 2, 1980.

‘The women won’t let us go’

Nov. 30, 2010By Cheryl WittenauerIsabel Legarda was only 8 years old when the abduction, rape and shooting death of four American churchwomen 30 years ago in El Salvador drew the world’s attention to the tiny Central American country, raised questions about U.S. support for rightist forces there, and inspired a movement of religious activism.

On Dec. 4, 1980, three Maryknoll sisters pray beside the bodies of the four American  Catholic women who were kidnapped and slain two days before in El Salvador. (AP

Legarda has assembled a multiethnic and ecumenical mix of artists to perform next month in Boston the New England premiere of “Missionaries,” award-winning composer Elizabeth Swados’ choral drama based on the women’s letters, journals, lives and work.Swados’ latest work, “Resilient Souls,” which premieres next month in New York, explores how people were affected by the women’s death, and how it changed their own commitment to the poor. “This story doesn’t just resonate with Catholics,” said Legarda, whose “Missionaries” cast and crew include a pagan, an atheist, a Jew, a Unitarian and Protestants. She said she wanted a “village of people” to tell a story with universal meaning — that the women sacrificed everything for their faithfulness to El Salvador’s poor in the early, brutal days of its as-yet-undeclared civil war.“We still have situations that demand people’s commitment to justice, whether in Sudan or Burma or the Philippines,” Legarda said. “There’s a tinderbox everywhere that requires people to give of themselves, to give everything for love”Pilgrims still flock to El Salvador… Continue to the rest of the story