Martyred Missionaries: The Lives and Legacies of Maura Clarke, Jean Donovan, Ita Ford, and Dorothy K

[Judi Lynn]

1. Pope prays for missionaries slain 40 years ago in El Salvador

Four missionary women who were brutally murdured 40 years ago in El Salvador

Forty years after their death, Pope Francis recalls the brave missionary women who were brutally murdered in El Salvador as they worked to make the lives of those suffering the county's civil war easier.
By Vatican News staff writer

It was 2 December 1980, ten months after the start of the civil war in El Salvador, and eight since the murder of Salvadorian Archbishop, now Saint, Oscar Romero, when four American women were brutally murdered.

The four women, missionaries offering humanitarian aid to El Salvador and neighbouring countries, were seen as a threat to the right wing government, and accused by the regime of fomenting political opposition.

Sister Ita Ford, 40, and Sister Maura Clarke, 49, were both Maryknoll Sisters from New York; Sister Dorothy Kazel, 40, an Ursuline Sister from Cleveland; and Jean Donovan, 27, a lay missionary who was engaged to be married, also from Cleveland. All four were raped and murdered by five members of the El Salvadorean National Guard.

Pope's prayers at Audience
Pope Francis turned his thoughts to these four missionaries at the end his General Audience on Wednesday, the anniversary of their death. He said:

"Today is the 40th anniversary of the death of four missionaries killed in El Salvador... On the 2nd of December in 1980 they were kidnapped, raped and killed by a group of paramilitary forces. They were offering their services during the civil war and they were bringing food and medicine to those who had to flee, especially to the families that were the poorest. These women lived their faith with great generostiy. They are an example for all of us to become faithful missionary disciples."

More:
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-12/pope-francis-general-audience-prayer-el-salvador-martyrs.html