Bodega Ecumenical Prayer Vigil

Catholic Relief Services joined with Colombian church groups and international humanitarian agencies in Bogotá, Colombia, on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 in a vigil for peace honoring slain church workers Mario Calderon, his wife Elsa Alvaredo and her father. They were murdered in their homes on May 19, 1997, due to their commitment to protecting the rights of rural communities.

A silent procession carried a wooden cross decorated with colored ribbons through the National Park.

Approximately 150 people attended the vigil, in spite of the cold, gray day. The memorial began with a speech by Father Alvaro Angulo, S.J. head of the research institute CINEP, paying tribute to those that have made the ultimate sacrifice in their search for peace. He also referred to the ever-increasing poverty that affects millions of Colombians.

After the inauguration speech, a silent procession carried a wooden cross decorated with colored ribbons through the National Park. Representatives of the Orthodox, Anglican, Mennonite, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Methodist and Baptist churches explained the significance of each colored ribbon to the procession; black for land, red for life, blue for liberty and justice, yellow for truth and memory, green for hope, white for peace and purple for the empowerment of women. The seven colors also represented the number of years that have passed since Mario and Elsa's death.

Background on the Vigil

For the past several years, Colombia's churches have held monthly vigils for peace in the National Plaza in Bogotá to protest the violence facing the people of Colombia. Attacks against religious leaders have risen drastically in the past few years, with more than 80 church leaders murdered since 2002.

Colombia is home to one of the longest running internal conflicts in the world — a conflict that involves leftist guerrillas, rightist paramilitarities, narcotraffickers and government forces. Though rooted in a long history of political exclusion and social inequities, drug-related profits have helped to intensify the fighting and raise the stakes in recent years. CRS supports local and national efforts to promote peacebuilding through workshops and events such as this vigil, as well as the National Week for Peace campaign.