ABSTRACT
The mural of Christ offered a message of peace and a bright splash of color to the inner patio where the hammock hung and where the deep green of the potted plants contrasted with the drabness of the surroundings. The minuscule courtyard of her very simple home is an oasis of calm and order in the hectic world of this extraordinary Franciscan nun and leading exponent of liberation theology in Nicaragua.
It is appropriate that Sr. Luz Beatriz Arellano should live in modest surroundings in a poor barrio, for she was reared in a humble family and has always identified Christ with “the people.” Whether as a student at the Sorbonne, base community organizer, intractable foe of the Somoza dictatorship, or activist theologian, Luz Beatriz Arellano has dedicated herself to narrowing the gap between theory and practice within the church. Ths most striking example of this goal is the historic national encounter of 1972, which Sr. Luz Beatriz was a major force in organizing, and during which teams of religious crisscrossed the country listening to the experiences of the people and creating a ministry based on the popular sense of the national social reality.
Until the administrative reorganization in 1988, this soft-spoken yet formidable sister occupied the dual post of Director of Solidarity Programs 164 and Director of Theological Research at the internationally known Antonio Valdivieso Ecumenical Center, the hub of activity in the new church in Nicaragua.
