During the turbulent 12-year civil war in El Salvador – October 1979 to January 1992 – thousands of people were killed, including six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter on Nov. 16, 1989, Archbishop Oscar Romero on March 24, 1980, and four churchwomen on Dec. 2, 1980. Two of the women, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel and lay missionary Jean Donovan, were from the diocese of Cleveland.
Each year, Church of the Resurrection in Solon remembers the Salvadoran martyrs during a prayer service on Dec. 2, the anniversary of the women’s death. Also killed that day were two Maryknoll nuns, Sister Maura Clarke and Sister Ita Ford.
“We’ve had a prayer service in their honor for many years,” said Father Tom Dragga, Resurrection pastor. This year, in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the diocesan mission in El Salvador, the diocesan Mission Office, the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland and the COAR Peace Mission, officially named the Community of Oscar Arnulfo Romero, also participated in the service.
Father Steve Vellenga, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Painesville, a former missionary in El Salvador (1988-1995) and director of the diocesan Mission Office, had hoped to participate. Unfortunately, the snowstorm that crippled parts of Northeastern Ohio prevented him from attending, so Father Dragga read remarks on his behalf.
COAR Peace Mission, named in honor of the late archbishop, was founded in 1980 to serve vulnerable children and the community. It provides foster care for 50-100 children, education for 1,000 children, a clinic, pharmacy and other services for the entire community.
Prior to the service, Father Dragga explained some of the features of Resurrection church, which is marking its 25th anniversary. “The parish was established in 1971, soon after CLAM (the Cleveland Latin American Mission in El Salvador),” he said.
The church has a monastic design with seating in eight sections that allow everyone to view the altar, which is in the center. The eight sections recall the seven days of creation and the day of rest, Father Dragga explained. He said the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, which was designed to resemble a tomb, is dedicated to the four late churchwomen.
“We are called to be God’s house, hands and heart alive,” said Sister Laura Bregar, OSU, president of the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland. “We have the cover of God’s tent, the refuge so many seek. Sister Dorothy, Sister Ita, Sister Maura, Jean, the Jesuits, St. Oscar Romero and behind them the tens of thousands of Salvadorans who died for their faith are our hope. They inspire us to take the next step … for God’s glory alone,” she said, reflecting on the Ursulines’ motto, Soli Deo Gloria (translated from Latin: Glory to God alone).
Sister Bregar introduced Sister Martha Owen, OSU and Sister Sheila Marie Tobbe, OSU, both of whom served on the diocesan mission team in El Salvador. They shared remembrances of their years as missionaries.
“We had an intimate experience forged with the people we served that illustrated the profound impact of the team’s work,” Sister Owen said recalling her time in El Salvador, 1974-1979. She knew Sister Kazel and Donovan. Much of their work involved lifting up the local people, allowing their voices to be heard and empowering them from within, she said.
Sister Owen recalled – and named – as many of the missionary team members as she could remember. “Let us continue to honor these dedicated missionaries and martyrs for their deep commitment,” she added.
Sister Tobbe reflected on her first trip to El Salvador in December 1979,when she attended a Christmas Eve Mass celebrated by Archbishop Romero. She said the Mass lasted more than two hours, with the archbishop preaching for an hour. He told the congregation not to let their mission as faith communities be subverted for or by political causes, she recalled. Sister Tobbe said the archbishop was “mobbed by people afterward” and Sister Kazel remarked that he’d be killed sometime because he spoke against violence on both sides of the civil war. Her words proved prophetic.
“Three months later (March 24, 1980), he was killed while celebrating Mass,” Sister Owen added. He was canonized by Pope Francis on Oct. 18, 2018 and his feast day is celebrated on March 24.
“I returned to Cleveland a changed person,” Sister Tobbe said about her first experience in El Salvador. Later, she served on the CLAM team (1990-1995). “I am impressed and amazed by the people who continue the work there (El Salvador), especially the young people who weren’t even born during the war or at the time of the murders. What’s worth dying for is also worth living for,” she added.
The prayer service included music, a Scripture reading, psalm, quotes from the late sisters, a litany remembering those who died in El Salvador and a candle lighting.
After the service, attendees processed to Emmaus Hall where Father Dragga offered some closing remarks and invited them to watch a short video about CLAM that was produced for the 50th anniversary of the mission in 2014.
The diocese answered a call from Pope John XXIII in 1964 to spread the kingdom of God to the people of El Salvador and established a mission. It has maintained a presence there ever since, with Father Paul Schindler and Father John Ostrowski continuing to minister to the Salvadorans.