Father Ignacio Ellacuría is counted among the Latin American martyrs. On November 16, 1989, he, along with five of his brother Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter, were murdered at the University of Central America by Salvadorian military forces. At the time Fr. Ellacuría was president of the University and the intended victim; however, the soldiers had been ordered to "leave no witnesses."

Jon Sobrino, a Jesuit theologian, has lived in El Salvador for over forty years. He is the author of many works, including the award-winning two volume christology, Jesus the Liberator and Christ the Liberator, The Principle of Mercy, and Witnesses to the Kingdom.