Memorial to the Salvadoran Martyrs
Jesuit Heritage
Memorial to the Salvadoran Martyrs
The Jesuit Martyrs of El Salvador (1989): Faith Promoting Justice
Honorary Doctorate, Military Massacre, Remembrance Wall
The Martyrs Memorial was constructed in 2010, twenty years after the November 16, 1989 Salvadoran military massacre at the Jesuits’ Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas” (La UCA El Salvador). A simple short wall, appropriately situated next to Madonna della Strada Chapel, lists the names of the eight Salvadoran Martyrs: six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter. In 1975, the global Jesuit order had issued a stark decree at its worldwide gathering in Rome: “The mission of the Society of Jesus today is the service of faith, of which the promotion of justice is an absolute requirement.” The UCA Jesuits embodied this mission.
“Salvadoran Martyrs Memorial.” Photo: Natalie Battaglia. Credit: Loyola University Chicago Digital Special Collections.
1986: Fr. Ignacio Ellacuría, S.J. (1930-1989), rector of La UCA El Salvador, receives an honorary degree from Fr. President Raymond C. Baumhart, S.J. at Loyola University commencement. Credit: Loyola Archives & Special Collections.
2019: On November 16, the the 30th anniversary of the crime in San Salvador, a man and a girl stand in front of a mural in homage of six Jesuit priests and two employees murdered during the civil war. Photo: MARVIN RECINOS/AFP via Getty Images.