
LMU This Week sat down with Allie Holmquist, campus minister for international immersion, to discuss her pilgrimage to El Salvador along with 25 other delegates from the Ignatian Solidarity Network. Holmquist visited the site at the Universidad Centroamericana where six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter were assassinated by the Salvadoran military on Nov. 16, 1989. This year was the 35-year anniversary of the killings.
The Jesuits had spoken out about the need for peace and the causes of the war in El Salvador. They were offered the chance to leave the country but chose to stay, educate for justice, and minister to the poor and hungry in war zones. They also publicly opposed U.S. support of the Salvadoran armed forces. The Jesuit martyrs are remembered for their commitment to justice and solidarity with those who were suffering during the war.
LMU This Week: Why did you decide to go on this pilgrimage?
Allie Holmquist: I am trying to do as much as I can to bring LMU into the Ignatian Solidarity Network, and I saw this as a great opportunity for LMU to be represented at the 35th anniversary of the UCA martyrs and I wanted to bring back my experiences to campus.
LMUTW: What did you do while you were there?
AH: We were on a true pilgrimage that was inspired by the religious figures who were martyred in El Salvador. The first day we went to the site where the four church women were killed [in 1980]. The murdered missionaries were Maryknoll Sisters Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, Ursuline Dorothy Kazel and lay missionary Jean Donovan. The pilgrimage was a lot of learning about these religious figures and holding them and their passion for justice in memory and prayer. We also went to many of the major sites of Óscar Romero. We celebrated Mass in the chapel where he ministered and was killed, visited his home, the cathedral, and the site where his body now rests.
LMUTW: What stood out to you personally?
AH: There was a phrase Óscar Romero highlighted as Archbishop “sentir con la iglesia,” which translates to “feel with the Church,” that really resonated with me on the day we went to the Rose Garden where the six Jesuit martyrs were killed. They have a museum there where you can see the outfits they were wearing when they were killed. We tend to think of them just as saintly people, but we forget that they were human beings. At the museum you can see their stuff, their college degrees, their car keys. I found it moving to remember the humanness of these martyrs while still recognizing they died because their faith informed them to stand up for justice.
LMUTW: Why is what happened to the Jesuit martyrs still relevant to us today?
AH: Pedro Arrupe was the superior general of the Society of Jesus. Arrupe shifted how Jesuit education looks today by emphasizing that is not just faith, but it’s faith and justice. It’s so important to highlight these martyrs because of what they did for the AJCU. We have programs like Ignacio Companions because of the UCA martyrs, we have a call to live a faith that seeks global justice. Faith and justice must go hand in hand.
LMUTW: What else did you experience on this trip? Did you form friendships?
AH: Yes, good friendships were formed on this trip amongst the people in our cohort. There’s a lot of grief in sitting with violence and trying to understand how a human could have the capacity to do this, or how there could be so much distrust. I always want to see the good in people, and so to take that in is really challenging for me. This trip really highlighted humanity. I am appreciative of our hosts who did such an amazing job of emphasizing to us how important it is to remember that while Óscar Romero is a saint in the Catholic Church, he was also still a human being. I think what is really compelling about all the places what we visited is the cost involved and what does that mean for us in 2024. We too, must walk the walk and talk the talk.