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DAY OF REMEMBRANCE MARKS The Sisters of Divine Providence and La Roche College will host a day-long Day of Remembrance to mark the 25 th anniversary of the brutal murders in El Salvador of Sisters Dorothy Kazel, Ita Ford, and Maura Clarke, and lay missionary Jean Donovan. The deaths of these four U.S. missionaries, who were killed by the Salvadoran military because of their commitment to the poor, sent shock waves throughout the world and had a profound effect on the U.S. Catholic church. Fr. Paul Schindler and Sister Christine Rody, who worked with the four martyrs and were present when their bodies were found, will speak of their recollections of the churchwomen on November 2, 2005 at 7 p.m. at Kearns Spirituality Center on the campus of the Sisters of Divine Providence , 9000 Babcock Boulevard in McCandless. Also speaking will be Dr. Edward T. Brett, chair of the history department at La Roche and co-author of the Christopher Award winning Murdered in Central America and The US Catholic Press on Central America: From Cold War Anticommunism to Social Justice. Fr. Paul Schindler served in El Salvador from June 1972 until January 1982 as part of the Cleveland diocese's mission team. Sr. Dorothy Kazel and Jean Donovan were also members of this team. While in El Salvador , Fr. Paul also worked closely with Archbishop Oscar Romero, serving as a representative on the San Salvadoran Archdiocesan priests' Senate. Since his return to the U.S. Fr. Paul has been pastor of St. Bernard Church in Akron . Sister Christine Rody , a Vincentian Sister of Charity, was also a member of the Cleveland team working in El Salvador from February 1976 to 1981. Along with Fr. Paul, she worked closely with Sister Dorothy and Jean and often assisted Maryknoll Sisters Ita Ford and Maura Clarke in their work with refugees. Since her return from the missions, she has earned a degree in Canon Law and served two terms as superior of her religious congregation. Currently she is a judge on the Cleveland Diocesan Tribunal. Schedule of events for the day is as follows: The day will begin at 10 a.m. with “ Walking the Labyrinth with the Martyred Church Women .” At 2 p.m. there will be a screening of the film, Roses in December , the story of slain missionary Jean Donovan. Discussion with eyewitnesses will follow. At 4:30 p.m. attendees will join the Sisters of Divine Providence for All Souls Day Vespers in the Mother of Divine Providence Chapel. Attendees are invited to bring a dish to share at the pot luck dinner to be served at 5:30 p.m. at Kearns . The evening presentation will follow dinner at 7 p.m. There is no cost for the event; free will offering accepted. For information, contact Sister Loretta Jean Schorr at Kearns Spirituality Center , 412.635.6314 or by email at ljschorr@aol.com. # # # |