Eileen Purcell

Eileen Purcell was a co-founder of the Sanctuary Movement and the first executive director of the SHARE Foundation during the war years in El Salvador. In 2013, she received an honorary doctorate from the Jesuit University of San Francisco in recognition of her ongoing defense of human rights in El Salvador and labor and immigrant rights in the United States. She currently works as a labor organizer with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Worker IBEW Local 1245.

By this Author

Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Tom Gumbleton is seen with St. Joseph Sr. Elena Jaramillo and folkloric dancers at La Pequeña Comunidad in Nueva Esperanza, El Salvador, in 2015. (Courtesy of SHARE El Salvador)

Tom Gumbleton was a bishop cut from a different cloth

My friend Tom gravitated to those who suffered the violence of war as well as structural violence. His solidarity with the peoples of Central America provides a window into his approach and his courage.

Advertisement