We are women who have lost three of our members to acts of violence in Nicaragua yet remain committed to nonviolence.
Through their martyrdom, we are reminded of the urgency of our own call to give our lives daily in a ministry of love and peacemaking wherever we are, in whatever we do.
We stand with those whose faith life or human dignity is threatened and are committed to ministries that respond to the Church’s call to hear the cry of the poor.
On New Year’s Day, 1990, Sisters Maureen Courtney and Teresa de Jesús Rosales Dixon were caught in an ambush in Nicaragua and killed on their way to ministry conference.
Five years later, on June 30, Sister Jenny Flor Altamirano Rivera was killed while traveling to Managua to visit her mother before attending a religious workshop.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has appointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners.” -Luke 4:18
Sister Maureen Courtney
Missionary, formator of catechists, teacher, pastoral minister, promoter of Miskito women and health leaders.
Sister Maureen was murdered during an ambush in Ojo de Agua, Nicaragua on January 1, 1990. She was 45 years old.
Sister Teresa de Jesús Rosales Dixon
Catechist, animator, and youth minister.
Sister Teresa was murdered during an ambush in Ojo de Agua, Nicaragua on January 1, 1990. She was 24 years old.
Sister Jenny Flor Altamirano Rivera
Catechist.
Sister Jenny was murdered while traveling to Managua to visit her mother on June 30, 1995. She was 26 years old.
In memory of the sisters' ministry and as a witness to nonviolence, a project evolved to fund and design plaques.
Plaques in memory of the three sisters are displayed in Nicaragua at Casa Santa Inés in Managua and Ojo de Agua, the site of the ambush. Two additional plaques for the three sisters are displayed in Founders Hall at St. Agnes Convent and at Nazareth Court, both in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
Sister Maureen Courtney is recognized individually on plaques at the high school she attended, Divine Savior Holy Angels High School, and her home parish, St. Margaret Mary, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
