Biography of maura clarke
Maura Clarke
American Catholic Maryknoll sister (–)
Maura Clarke, MM (January 13, – December 2, ), was an American Maryknoll Sister who served as a missionary in Nicaragua and El Salvador. She worked with the poor and refugees in Central America from until her murder in On December 2, , she was beaten, raped, and murdered along with three fellow missionaries — Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel and Jean Donovan — by members of the military of El Salvador.
Early life and education
Mary Elizabeth Clarke was born in Fordham Hospital to Irish Catholic immigrant parents John and Mary Clarke.[1][2] Her father was a member of the Irish Republic Army, which inspired her from a young age to fight oppression.[3][4] At age two, Clarke, her parents, and newborn brother moved to Rockaway, Queens.[2] There, Clarke grew up in majority-Catholic neighborhoods, moving frequently as landlords raised rent prices in the summer.[2] She attended the schools of St.
Camillus, St. Francis de Sales School in Belle Harbor, and Stella Maris.[2][3] After graduating from Stella Maris, she took classes at St. Francis College.[2]
Clarke became interested in missionary work as a teenager, in part excited by the idea of travel and adventure. While at Stella Maris, she joined the school's Catholic Students' Mission Crusade.[2]
Maryknoll work
In , at age 19, Clarke decided to join the Maryknoll Sisters.[1][3] She became a postulant on September 6, [2][5] Clarke initially struggled as a postulant, desiring to serve a community rather than follow monastic rules.[2] As a novitiate, she studied education at the Maryknoll Teachers College.[2] She took her first vows in [6] After graduating from Maryknoll Teachers College in , she taught in the Bronx.[3][6]
In , Clarke was assigned to Siuna, a remote location on Nicaragua's Atlantic coast.[1][4] There, she assisted in running the local church, hospital, and school.[1] In , Clarke became sister superior of the mission in Siuna.[1] That year also marked the end of the Second Vatican Council, which shifted the Maryknoll sisters work from simple charity work to community organizing.
Biography of maura clarke married We know, however, that the blood of the martyrs is not shed in vain: the eloquent cry of blood rises ceaselessly from the earth to God; and He, moved by the joy of those who so wonderfully incarnated His Son, will fill this same earth with blessings. Soldiers stationed there were well aware of the work of the parish. We have recently relaunched the commenting experience at America and are aiming for a more focused commenting experience with better moderation by opening comments on a select number of articles each day. We have seen the collapse of good governance and furious political polarization that threatens our democracy.Clarke was in favor of the shift, and encouraged the increasing engagement with the communities the sisters served.[1] In , Clarke began working in Managua, becoming involved in the protests being organized in the city's slums.[1][4] She provided support to student protesters and hunger strikers, among others.[1] In , after a devastating earthquake hit the country, Clarke supported refugees in protesting for better living conditions within refugee camps.[1] She participated in the "occupation of the Nicaraguan consulate to the United Nations".[1] For Clarke, liberation theology had merged the political and religious.[1]
Clarke returned to the United States in , where she served on a Maryknoll Sisters World Awareness Team,[6] educating other nuns on the political landscape in Nicaragua and the U.S.'s involvement with the Nicaraguan government and its crimes.[1] After three years in the U.S., Clarke returned to Nicaragua in [6] With the Nicaraguan Somoza regime fully removed from power, Clarke decided to move on to another country rather than to continue to work in Nicaragua, noting "we’ve won here.
They still haven’t won in El Salvador".[1]
Clarke came to El Salvador in August , first working in Santa Ana.[4][6] Her work in El Salvador was influenced by Archbishop Oscar Romero, assassinated earlier that year, who asked that nuns join the struggle of parishioners against dictatorial regimes.[3][4] After her first few weeks in the country, she joined Ita Ford in working in the northern mountains of Chalatenango, at that point the "frontlines of the war".[1][6] Her early work in leading prayer meetings evolved to work in distributing food and supplies to farmers and peasants.
She also worked to help targeted individuals flee to the cities and to file records on human rights violations.[1][3]
In November , Clarke returned briefly to Nicaragua for a Maryknoll meeting.[4] There, in light of worsening conditions in El Salvador, Maryknoll began to discuss evacuating Clarke and fellow missionaries Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel, and Jean Donovan; all four refused.[3][4]
Murder
Main article: murders of U.S.
missionaries in El Salvador
In early December , Clarke and Ita Ford returned to El Salvador from Nicaragua, where they had been attending a Maryknoll meeting. Dorothy Kazel, and Jean Donovan met the two at the airport.[7] On December 2, while returning from the airport, the four were attacked by the military.[4]
Legacy
A mass is held in Rockaway annually in honor of Clarke.[3] In St.
Francis de Sales Church, stained glass windows depicting Clarke were installed.[3]
See also
References
Further reading
- A Radical Faith: The Assassination of Sr. Maura, Eileen Markey, NationBooks
- Hearts on Fire: The Story of the Maryknoll Sisters, Penny Lernoux, et al., Orbis Books,
- Ita Ford: Missionary Martyr, Phyllis Zagano, Paulist Press,
- The Same Fate As the Poor, Judith M.
Noone, Orbis Books, ISBN&#;
- Witness of Hope: The Persecution of Christians in Latin America, Martin Lange and Reinhold Iblacker, Orbis Books,