Fontbonne Hall Academy honored the 44th anniversary of the martyrdom of alumna Ita Ford on Monday with a heartfelt ceremony at its Bay Ridge campus.
The Dec. 2 event featured the dedication of a new indoor mural paying tribute to the courageous life of Ford, a Brooklyn native who graduated from Fontbonne Hall in 1957. Ford went on to join the Maryknoll Sisters, a global community of women devoted to serving the poor, sick and marginalized.
Ford, along with three other women — Jean Donovan, Sister Maura Clarke, and Sister Dorothy Kazel — was brutally killed on Dec. 2, 1980, during El Salvador’s bloody civil war. The group dedicated their lives to assisting refugees and the impoverished, actions that ultimately made them targets of violence.
Created in collaboration with the Maryknoll Sisters and the Sisters of St. Joseph, the mural is a vibrant depiction of Ford’s life and mission. The artwork serves as a tribute to her legacy and a source of inspiration for current and future students.
“We’ve done some work with Fontbonne Hall, and the opportunity came up to be able to tell Ita Ford’s story through a mural,” said artist Aaron Padin, who led the mural’s creation. “We worked on it with the Maryknoll Sisters and the Sisters of St. Joseph to make what you see here today.”
Padin said he worked hard to “get it right.”
“That was something we really wanted to make sure we did,” he told Brooklyn Paper. “We wanted to make sure that we really tell a story and that we inspire the students for now and for the future to come.”
Padin’s piece was unveiled to an audience of students, faculty, alumni and community members. The ceremony also included a blessing of the mural, which officials said serves as a powerful reminder of Ford’s commitment to justice and humanity — even in the face of danger.
Additional reporting by Arthur de Gaeta
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