Ita Ford
Ita Ford Brooklyn, New York | |
|---|---|
| Died | December 2, 1980 (aged 40) |
| Cause of death | Murder by military death squad |
| Resting place | Chalatenango, El Salvador |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Maryknoll Missionary Sister |
| Parent(s) | William P. Ford, Sr., & Mildred Teresa O'Beirne |
| Relatives | William P. Ford, Jr., (brother) & Bishop Francis Xavier Ford, M.M. |
Ita Ford, M.M. (April 23, 1940 – December 2, 1980) was an American
Life and work
Born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 23, 1940, Ford was the daughter of William Patrick Ford, an insurance man who took early retirement due to
Although her mother taught in the public school system, Ita Ford was educated in parochial schools, beginning at age five in the Visitation Academy in Bay Ridge, run by the
After working seven years as an editor at a publishing company, Ford reapplied and was again accepted by the Maryknoll
After spending a required "reflection year" in the United States, 1978–1979, before taking permanent religious vows in March 1980, Ford moved with Piette from Chile to El Salvador, arriving the day of Óscar Romero's funeral.[4] In June of that year, they began working with the Emergency Refugee Committee in Chalatenango. In this mission, Ford worked with the poor and war victims, providing food, shelter, transportation and burial.
After the death of Sister Carla in a flash flood on August 23, 1980—a flood which nearly cost Ford her own life, saved only by Piette's help in pushing her from the overwhelmed vehicle—Ford was joined on the mission by Maura Clarke, a Maryknoll sister who was already in El Salvador in contemplation of a mission assignment. Altogether, Piette and Ford had worked together in Chile and El Salvador for seven years, until their deaths barely three months apart on December 2, 1980.
Murder
References
- ^ ISBN 1-57075-605-8.
- ^ Bishop Francis Xavier Ford, accessed online December 11, 2006.
- ^ a b c Martyrs of Central America Archived 2008-07-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Ita Ford Peacemakers biography
Further reading
- Hearts on Fire: The Story of the Maryknoll Sisters, Penny Lernoux, et al., Orbis Books, 1995.
- Ita Ford: Missionary Martyr, Phyllis Zagano, Paulist Press, 1996.
- The Same Fate As the Poor, Judith M. Noone, Orbis Books, 1995.
- Witness of Hope: The Persecution of Christians in Latin America, Martin Lange and Reinhold Iblacker, Orbis Books, 1981.
- "Here I Am Lord":The Letters and Writings of Ita Ford, Jeanne Evans, Orbis Books, 2005.
External links
- A Search for Justice a documentary from Retro Report
- Ford v. Garcia Trial Background. Legal history section of PBS website on "Justice and the Generals" presentation in 2002. Accessed October 7, 2005.
- The Maura Clarke – Ita Ford Center of Brooklyn, New York.
- Martyrdom in El Salvador Maryknoll Sisters website. Accessed October 7, 2005.
- Plant a Tree in Ita Ford's Memory Memorial program in El Salvador in honor of the four churchwomen; accessed December 9, 2006.
- Report of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador (1993) accessed online December 9, 2006.