‘Justice Still Has Not Been Done Here.’

When Ryan Medina stepped off the plane in San Salvador, capital city of El Salvador, he felt the thrill of being in a new country. He was eager to meet the fellow pilgrims he’d only known online and excited about the journey ahead. But as their van left the bustling city streets and began the drive to the gravesite of four U.S. churchwomen, the atmosphere shifted.

“I realized we were quite literally retracing the same route these women took after they were picked up from the airport on the night they were ambushed and killed,” said Medina, a teacher at Loyola Blakefield High School near Baltimore, Md.

By the time they reached the site where the women were buried, Medina was struck by the surreal blend of sanctity and violence — a paradox he would encounter again and again throughout the pilgrimage.

The Ignatian Solidarity Network’s pilgrimage, held Nov. 13-17, was organized around the 35-year anniversary of the murder of six Jesuits, a laywoman, and her daughter in their residence on the campus of the University of Central America in San Salvador. The Ignatian Solidarity Network is a Jesuit-affiliated, lay-led organization founded in 2004 that partners with hundreds of Catholic universities, high schools, and parishes across the U.S. to “network, educate, and form advocates for social justice,” inspired by Ignatian spirituality and the Jesuit martyrs of El Salvador. They brought together 25 pilgrims, ages 25 to 74, from diverse backgrounds united by a commitment to social justice.

Pilgrims visited sites tied to El Salvador’s history of faith and violence, including the chapel built at the site where the four U.S. churchwomen — Maryknoll Sisters Maura Clarke and Ita Ford, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel, and lay missionary Jean Donovan — were killed; the residence of St. Óscar Romero, the archbishop who was assassinated in 1980 while saying Mass in the chapel of Hospital de la Divina Providencia; the Civil War monument La Memoria y la Verdad; and the UCA campus.

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At UCA, they explored the Centro Monseñor Romero museum and the rose garden dedicated to the Jesuit martyrs and participated in a Catholic mass and vigil honoring their legacy.

“Going to the UCA and being able to see the images of the martyrs — it hit me in different ways. I thought I was prepared. And it did make me question: How can we as humans be so inhuman to others? How can we do this to our brothers and sisters in this world?” Medina said.

The emotional confrontation that Medina experienced with the legacy of martyrs wasn’t unique to him. For Michael Betlach, a pastoral councilmember at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Madison, Wisc., the pilgrimage brought into focus the unresolved injustices tied to these legacies.

“It’s not just a memory, not a living history or a reenactment,” Betlach said. “It’s a very powerful message that, you know, justice still has not been done here.”

Connection to current-day martyrs

Across the world, Christians who organize for the rights of laborers still face repression and martyrdom. In October, gunmen in southern Mexico killed Marcelo Pérez, a Catholic priest who organized for Indigenous peoples and farm laborers, after he finished a Sunday Mass. Similarly, lay Christian leader and environmental activist Juan López was murdered in Honduras on his way back from attending a service at a local Catholic church.

Christopher Kerr, executive director of the Ignatian Solidarity Network, reflected on the dangers faced by those working for justice in Latin America.

“Whether we are looking at El Salvador, Honduras, or Mexico, we know that security and people’s sense of safety are a huge element of the capacity to have a just and democratic society,” he said. “So I think it’s good to take a step back and say, ‘What’s happening in Latin America that is putting people’s livelihoods at risk? What’s happening in Latin America that’s putting democratic structures at risk? [And] what’s happening in [the U.S.] that might be creating those risks?’”

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In this context, Kerr emphasized the significance of the pilgrimage held by ISN not only as a way to honor the UCA martyrs but also as a chance to reflect on the boundaries of justice by confronting U.S. involvement in the violence.

Kerr pointed out that 19 of the 25 soldiers who stormed the campus of UCA had been trained in the U.S. Army School of the Americas. Now named the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, the institution remains emblematic of U.S. intervention in Latin America.

“Hundreds of soldiers who received training at that school have been affiliated with human rights abuses, including the killings of the four U.S. churchwomen in 1980, the murder of Archbishop Óscar Romero, and the Jesuit martyrs in 1989, as well as the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent civilians,” Kerr said.

The pilgrimage, Kerr said, was designed to offer an immersive experience, allowing participants to literally and metaphorically walk in the footsteps of those who sacrificed their lives for justice.

This vision of immersion was brought to life through the pilgrimage's partnership with Christians for Peace in El Salvador. The organization went beyond merely handling logistics to fulfill its mission of “building bridges of solidarity” between the U.S. and El Salvador. Throughout the journey, CRISPAZ challenged pilgrims to step outside their comfort zones and confront difficult truths about the relationship between the two countries.

Emily Kane, acting director of the office of campus ministry at Loyola University Maryland and a participant of the pilgrimage, praised CRISPAZ’s impact.

“The amount that we were able to do and see and learn and discuss was unbelievable,” Kane said. “They are experts at bringing people in, providing them the context that they need to understand what they’re seeing, and challenging U.S. Americans to think critically about what role we have in this and what responsibilities we have moving forward for reconciliation and justice.”

These lessons in cross-cultural understanding deepened during the pilgrimage’s most anticipated event — the commemoration of the UCA martyrs. Here, pilgrims experienced how Salvadoran culture honors its martyrs not through somber reflection alone but through vibrant celebration. For Kane, this approach to remembrance challenged her preconceptions.

“The commemoration was something that I had sort of built up in my head for so long,” Kane said. “I had anticipated that it was going to be this very emotional, somber event. And we got there, and it was so not that. It was joyful, colorful, loud, and happy.”

This felt appropriate, Kane reflected, as they processed through the UCA campus, admiring the alfombras — intricate salt carpets depicting images and messages of the commemoration.

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“At the end of Mass, I thought, you know, this has to be exactly what they would have wanted. Not a dramatic, sad event, but an amazing celebration of life, gratitude for the lessons they taught us, and a celebration of the continuation of life.”

For many, this sense of joy amid sacrifice was a central takeaway of the pilgrimage. Ashley Krautkremer, a teacher at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., found deep meaning in this paradox.

“This trip made me realize that if you sacrifice for others, you find joy. The martyrs sacrificed their lives, but they had joy,” she said. I’ve been thinking about how much joy and purpose come from giving ourselves to others in whatever capacity that looks like.”