¡Bienvenidos!
¡Buenos Dias! I'm Rosabelle Conover, a senior at Notre Dame in the College of Science studying Pre-Professional Studies , Theology, and Peace Studies. Here, I'd like to introduce you to the people and the places that I got to know during my summer in El Salvador.
The small country of El Salvador located in Central America is known for many things--its pupuserias, coffee fincas, beaches, and the hospitality of its people. One of the most famous figures to emerge from this country, however, is Monsignor Oscar Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador who fought against governmental repression and proclaimed the rights of the people in the turmoil leading up to the Salvadoran Civil War. Although assassinated in 1980 while saying Mass, his espousal of liberation theology and transformation of the role of the Catholic Church in its commitment to the poor of El Salvador still play important roles in the country today.
Within this website, I invite you to walk with me on my eight week experience of El Salvador as we explore my journey, meet the people with whom I interacted, and discuss the themes of entrapment and liberation portrayed by Romero through the stories I heard in my time there.
As regards El Salvador itself, Marta and Lupita will tell us of their and their families' sufferings at the hands of both the FMLN (Farbundo Marti National Liberation Front) and the US-backed El Salvadoran government during the 1980's. Two groups of youth trying to avoid involvement in city gangs through music and art and my friend Rosalba will help us explore current gang violence within San Salvador. Maria and her husband will also teach us about the Salvadoran side of immigration to the United States.
Liberation theology at its very core involves a commitment to the poor as they try to escape that poverty in which they live. As such, we will discuss the provision of healthcare in rural San Julian and Santa Ana, especially with regards to malnutrition as I lived it with my medical team, and the machismo which holds women within specific gender roles and limits their personal agency through the patients with whom we interacted. Please visit the
Although my interest in liberation theology stemmed from two classes I took while studying abroad at Pontifica Universidad Catholica in Santiago, Chile, my interaction in El Salvador with the life of Oscar Romero and the murder of the four American churchwomen and six Jesuits as well as thousands of other priests and lay men and women for their commitment to the poor stimulated a more personal absorption. Upon my return to Notre Dame, I was given the opportunity to take a class with Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez, widely regarded as the founder of liberation theology, who grounded my understanding in the field within an academic framework that I then used to interpret my Salvadoran experience.
This website is the result. Please spend some time here getting to know the people whom I met over the summer and walking with me on my journey.
The small country of El Salvador located in Central America is known for many things--its pupuserias, coffee fincas, beaches, and the hospitality of its people. One of the most famous figures to emerge from this country, however, is Monsignor Oscar Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador who fought against governmental repression and proclaimed the rights of the people in the turmoil leading up to the Salvadoran Civil War. Although assassinated in 1980 while saying Mass, his espousal of liberation theology and transformation of the role of the Catholic Church in its commitment to the poor of El Salvador still play important roles in the country today.
Within this website, I invite you to walk with me on my eight week experience of El Salvador as we explore my journey, meet the people with whom I interacted, and discuss the themes of entrapment and liberation portrayed by Romero through the stories I heard in my time there.
As regards El Salvador itself, Marta and Lupita will tell us of their and their families' sufferings at the hands of both the FMLN (Farbundo Marti National Liberation Front) and the US-backed El Salvadoran government during the 1980's. Two groups of youth trying to avoid involvement in city gangs through music and art and my friend Rosalba will help us explore current gang violence within San Salvador. Maria and her husband will also teach us about the Salvadoran side of immigration to the United States.
Liberation theology at its very core involves a commitment to the poor as they try to escape that poverty in which they live. As such, we will discuss the provision of healthcare in rural San Julian and Santa Ana, especially with regards to malnutrition as I lived it with my medical team, and the machismo which holds women within specific gender roles and limits their personal agency through the patients with whom we interacted. Please visit the
Although my interest in liberation theology stemmed from two classes I took while studying abroad at Pontifica Universidad Catholica in Santiago, Chile, my interaction in El Salvador with the life of Oscar Romero and the murder of the four American churchwomen and six Jesuits as well as thousands of other priests and lay men and women for their commitment to the poor stimulated a more personal absorption. Upon my return to Notre Dame, I was given the opportunity to take a class with Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez, widely regarded as the founder of liberation theology, who grounded my understanding in the field within an academic framework that I then used to interpret my Salvadoran experience.
This website is the result. Please spend some time here getting to know the people whom I met over the summer and walking with me on my journey.