Jon Sobrino, SJ

(b. 1938)

Father Jon Sobrino — is a Spanish‑born Jesuit priest and theologian who has lived and worked most of his life in El Salvador and is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Latin American liberation theology.

Jesuit priest and liberation theologian, one of the central figures of Latin American theology. Professor at the University of Central America (UCA) in San Salvador. Known for his Christology from below — grounded in the experience of the poor — and for his work on the "church of the poor." He survived the 1989 UCA massacre (in which six of his Jesuit colleagues, their housekeeper, and her daughter were killed by the Salvadoran military) only because he was abroad at the time. He has spent his life bearing witness to that loss and to the theology that demands solidarity with the marginalized.

Connection

Phyllis Anderson met Jon Sobrino on a fact-finding mission to Latin America organized by the Iowa District of the American Lutheran Church.

Why Herbert Would Be Delighted

Sobrino's liberation theology speaks directly to the progressive theological commitments Herbert has held throughout his ministry. The fact that Phyllis — on a church-organized fact-finding trip — sat with one of the defining voices of that tradition is a connection that runs right through the center of what Herbert cares about.