Brief Chronology

1988: Mark Chmiel and Mev Puleo meet at Maryknoll School of Theology conference on “The Future of Liberation Theology.”

1989: Chmiel begins full-time graduate studies at Maryknoll; Puleo continues studies at Weston in Cambridge. Puleo travels to Brazil, meets Ilza Mendez.

1990: Chmiel travels to Israel/Palestine with Marc Ellis. Puleo graduates with M.A. in Theological Studies from Weston School of Theology; Chmiel graduates with M.A. in Peace and Justice Studies from Maryknoll School of Theology. Chmiel meets poet Sheri Hostetler and begins Au Bon Pain meetings at Kendall Square in Cambridge. Chmiel and Puleo travel to Brazil, where Puleo shoots photos and conducts interviews of the liberation church.

1991: Puleo gets arrested in mass civil disobedience action in protest of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Chmiel and Puleo get engaged and move to Berkeley, where Chmiel begins PhD studies at the Graduate Theological Union.

1992: Puleo introduces Chmiel to old friend Jesuit Steve Kelly at Lawrence Livermore Labs protest. Chmiel and Puleo are married at St. Francis Xavier College Church in Saint Louis in June (honeymoon in Italy). Puleo travels on a human rights delegation to Haiti after the coup against President Jean-Bertrand.

1993: Puleo travels to El Salvador with CRISPAZ, interviews Ann Manganaro and Jon Sobrino. Puleo works as emcee at World Youth Day in Denver, has a few words with Pope John Paul II. Puleo begins doctoral studies at GTU in Liturgy, Proclamation, and the Arts.

1994: Puleo travels on delegation to Chiapas in aftermath of Zapatista revolt. Puleo is diagnosed with malignant brain tumor, undergoes surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. SUNY Press publishes her Brazil book, The Struggle is One: Voices and Visions of Liberation.

1995: Chmiel and Puleo move to her hometown of Saint Louis. The community in Forest Park Southeast comes to their aid. Steve Kelly arrested in West Coast Plowshares action.

1996: Puleo dies on January 12. Sheri Hostetler speaks at GTU Memorial Service for Puleo. Chmiel begins working with Karen Catholic Worker House.

1997: Chmiel finishes PhD at GTU, with dissertation being a political reading of Holocaust remembrancer Elie Wiesel. Chmiel begins teaching at Saint Louis University. Ivone Gebara participates in first Mev Puleo Memorial Program at SLU. Chmiel begins writing manuscript on life with Puleo.

1998: Chmiel and friends participate in SOA protest at Fort Benning, Georgia.

1999: Mev Puleo Memorial Program focuses on the legacy of the Salvadoran Jesuits ten years after their assassination.

2000: Chmiel reads Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas and Uruguyan writer Eduardo Galeano and has “aha!” experience regarding the structure of his book about Puleo.

2001: Mev Puleo Program highlights the human cost of sanctions against Iraq; Kathy Kelly, Archbishop Jibrail Kassab, and Hans von Sponeck speak at various events.

2002: First group of SLU students go to Nicaragua to study and work through SLU Mev Puleo Scholars Program.

2003: Chmiel works with International Solidarity Movement in Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, October –December.