Crosses on the Quad explained at Salvadoran martyrs commemoration

The ceremony for the 20th anniversary of the death of the Jesuit priests killed in El Salvador struck Loyola students, professors, administrators and even a group of students from Notre Dame Prep.

One of the most shocking parts of the commemoration that took place on November 16 was the representation, by Loyola's Jesuits, of the six Jesuit faculty members at the University of Central America, killed during the Salvadorian civil war.

"Seeing the six Jesuits speak about the six Jesuits who were killed added a sense of humanity to the still photos and numbers we often see associated with the martyrs," said Julie Sayo, '11.

Rosie Miola, '12, service and spirituality student program assistant at the Center for Community Service and Justice, explained that the decision to match up members of our community with the martyrs sought to show how those people affected their campus and communities and how our campus could be affected if that sort of tragedy happened here.

The group of Jesuits included Fr. Linnane, Fr. Brown, Fr. Connor, Fr. McDermott and Fr. Donahue. Campus Ministry Associate Director George Miller filled in for Fr. Jack. They read the priests biographies and lit a candle on their name saying presente, "present" in Spanish, to acknowledge their sacrifice and to recognize their presence with us now.

Fr. Connor, who knew the Jesuit priests who were assassinated, said he was grateful for the opportunity to revere these heroic martyrs: "It was a privilege to "re-present" - make physically present again - a Jesuit brother who was certainly with us there in spirit."

Other martyrs were honored as well; Anne and Marie McSweeney represented the housekeeper and her daughter who were killed along with the Jesuits. Two Maryknoll sisters from Baltimore and CCSJ staff members represented the four American churchwomen who were murdered, raped and tortured on December 2, 1980.

The commemoration started by explaining the white crosses placed on the Quad, followed by a 17-minute clip of the documentary "Enemies of War," which showed how these priests and educators died as witness to their faith and commitment to the people of El Salvador and the role of the United States during the civil war.

Then the candle ceremony took place. After this moving moment, attendees sung the refrain of the song - "No mas, no more" - to denounce the injustices that led to the deaths of these martyrs and other 75,000 people in El Salvador and to commit as a community to seek justice. The song is part of the annual Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice and School of the Americas Vigil at Ft. Benning, Georgia. A delegation of 24 Loyola students went there last weekend.

The ceremony ended with a closing prayer, followed by a reception in Cohn Hall where people could visit the Just Art Gallery exhibit about these martyrs, Archbishop Romero and thousands of innocent Salvadorans who have died.

A lot of people were moved by this ceremony after they learned about the martyrs and joined as a community to honor those who died being faithful to the Jesuit values that members of the Loyola community also uphold.

Greg Torres, '12, made going to the commemoration a priority after seeing the crosses, explanation and follow-up this year. He said he was shocked by the graphic documentary. "These were priests, they were holy men killed. They didn't do anything wrong", said Torres. He also said that this made him want to learn more about the civil war in El Salvador.

"It was powerful just to have the candles," said Kara Griffin, '10, who is part of the Encounter El Salvador group. Griffin came to the ceremony to learn more about the martyrs and she thinks this symbol and the crosses on the Quad "honor [the] men and women, Jesuit and lay, who were brutally murdered for doing what they thought was right."

Lauren Jannielo, '12, thought the lighting of the candles was a beautiful way to honor these martyrs. "They [the martyrs] were saying these profound things before they died because they live everyday to the fullest serving others," Jannielo said.

Margarita Dubocq, CCSJ's assistant director of poverty concerns and faith connections, said that they still receive e-mails from people talking about experiences during the commemoration.

Each year, white crosses are lined up on the Quad to honor the memory of the martyrs of Central and South America, who were killed because of their faith and their commitment to defending the voiceless.

This year, CCSJ, in collaboration with Campus Ministry and the Jesuit Community, decided to go beyond the placement of the crosses to really commemorate these martyrs and the thousand innocent men and women who were murdered in El Salvador.

"We figure not many people realize the significance of the crosses and this was the 20th anniversary, so we wanted to celebrate and educate people about who they were," said Miola. The idea was to get students to ask questions and to learn about the people behind the crosses.

"They were just educators, not subversives. That's why they were persecuted," Miola added.

The commemoration had four components this year. The crosses on the quad had photos and biographies of the martyrs, along with "Why the crosses?" fliers. These fliers, also placed across campus, explained the significance of the crosses, informed about the martyrs who gave their lives in sacrifice for the freedom of the people of Central and South America, and invited people to find out more.

Options to learn more included not just the commemoration ceremony, but an earlier mass on the same day dedicated to them and the Just Art Exhibit in Cohn Hall. This exhibit, which will be up during the rest of November, is dedicated to these martyrs and thousand of people killed and disappeared in Central and South America.

Thanks to this effort, conversations about the crosses occurred. As Dubocq said, "No matter how much or little you knew, you know that something happened."