The Xavier Community Remembers the Jesuit Martyrs of El Salvador

James R. Cappabianca ’05

On Wednesday, November 12th, Xavier High School, in partnership with the Xavier Jesuit Community and the Church of St. Francis Xavier, commemorated the 25th Anniversary of the deaths of the UCA Martyrs. The Mass and reception drew a crowd of over 100 attendees, ranging from current Xavier students, faculty members and parents, to Cristo Rey High School students and administrators, Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) members and participants within the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, along with many other guests and friends of Xavier. This event was held in remembrance of the events that took place in the early morning hours on November 16th, 1989, when six Jesuits of the faculty and Jesuit Community of the University of Central America (UCA) in El Salvador, their housekeeper and their housekeeper's daughter were brutally murdered. They were silenced for their solidarity with the poor and the oppressed, for their work to make real the Gospel vision of a just and peaceful world.

However, as celebrant and homilist Fr. Joseph Marina, S.J. remarked boldly to the congregation who were in attendance:

“So what does all of this mean for a parish and a high school and a Jesuit community, all touching, and all with addresses on 16th Street in New York City? It means that we should remember. We should remember Elba and Celina, Ignacio, Juaquin, Segundo, Juan Ramon, Amando and Ignacio and everything they stood for. And it means that we should do our part to recognize the Kingdom of God in our lives, to work for it, and to help others do the same. The very number of our street should serve as a reminder of the day their names and their work became known.”

The mass was celebrated in the Church of St. Francis Xavier by Fr. Joseph Marina, pastor of the Church of St. Francis Xavier, and assisted by Fr. James Croghan, S.J., rector of the Xavier Jesuit Community, and other Jesuits of the New York province and priests of the archdiocese. The Ignatian Schola and the Choir of the Church of St. Francis Xavier led the music accompaniment for the event. Much of the music provided and prayed with at Mass for the El Salvadoran Martyrs was drawn from La Misa Popular Salvadorena, a Mass composed by Guillermo Cuellar at the request of Archbishop Oscar Romero. Although not published until 1988, it was written during the Archbishop’s lifetime and was inspired by the struggle for human rights. The Mass setting experienced by the 100 or so attendees has survived because of the many cries for justice. It sings of the word of God that inspires and rings life and hope to all whose hearts call for justice, peace and love.

It was fitting, therefore, that Fr. Marina spoke about making sense of tragedy and how we all, particularly for those who work for and with others every day. “We can try, with God’s grace. The same way we can try to understand any other tragedies in our lives and in the world…Our God is with us at every moment of our lives, especially during the hard times. And no matter how grim a situation may get, there is always hope because there is always grace.”

To the members of the Xavier community in attendance – Mr. Jack Raslowsky, Mr. Daniel Dougherty, Mr. Paul Wendel, Ms. Kaija DeWitt, Mr. James R. Cappabianca ’05, Fr. James Hederman, S.J., Fr. Jack Replogle, S.J. '51, various students who will be attending the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in Washington D.C. this coming weekend – and to many others, the Mass offered hope for those working for a future that promotes justice and partnership. Fr. Marina, through the closing of his homily, offered his vision and message quite clearly, stating, “Their work and their names go on in us…because the kingdom of God is a partnership. It always was. Our part is to continue to work for its fulfillment and, as we do, we have the martyrs of El Salvador to inspire us, along with so many others.”

*The painted portraits of the Jesuit Martyrs on display during Mass were created by students from Xavier High School. Xavier extends our gratitude to the artists: Don Bosco ’16, Edward Cush ’16, Robert Martinelli ’16, Pasquale Tagliaferro ’17, Terrence Navin ’17, Liam Shanks ’15, Hao Zheng ’15 and Andrew Saldivar ’15.