The formation of El Sitio
Most people in El Sitio were devastated by loss from the Copapayo massacre. They still carry these losses in their hearts and bodies. The doctors and nurses that accompany St. Catherine’s delegations still treat the symptoms of these losses each visit. Many of the root causes of the conflict still remain: The poverty, the lack of opportunities for employment, the fact that 5 percent of Salvadorans still own 85 percent of the wealth, and the struggles with their government - these still continue today. Father Bob Flickinger calls the people of El Sitio a ‘resurrection people.’ They have endured and have been reborn. They survived the massacre at Copapayo. They persevered through an arduous journey and exile in a refugee camp. They found the courage to return and to begin anew. From the ashes of Copapayo, they have built a new home and given it a new name that remembers and honors their history, but is not entombed by it. In the faces of the members of El Sitio de Cenicero, our Sister Parish, we see that a resurrection people are among us.
Prayer: Jesus in the birth and growth of our Sister community of El Sitio, we are reminded of the hope and promise offered by Your resurrection. Help us learn the lessons and receive the gifts that You and they offer us, so that we too can become a resurrection people.
Closing Prayer:
Jesus, in your Eucharist and through the example of your life you show us what it means to be perfectly Chosen, Blessed, Broken and Shared. We believe that by sharing in our human brokenness, you have transformed suffering and death and give us new life. In this sharing of the brokenness and suffering of our brothers and sisters of El Sitio, we ask that you transform us and bless them and us with new life. Amen.
|  Above: El Sitio's new church - as seen from the clinic on the hill above the village
Below: Some of the children from the village today
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