Perkins in the World: Professor Harold Recinos introduces graduate-level thinking to undergraduates during El Salvador pilgrimage

As Perkins School of Theology at SMU continues developing its partnership with McMurry University in Abilene, Texas, through an accelerated dual-degree program, Professor of Church and Society Harold Recinos returned to campus after leading an immersion pilgrimage to El Salvador with a group of 24 McMurry undergraduates. 

Drawing on decades of scholarship and nearly 40 years of leading educational pilgrimages in El Salvador, Recinos transformed the trip into more than a study-abroad experience. Students encountered the history of faith, justice and human rights firsthand while engaging the kind of theological reflection typically introduced in seminary classrooms. For many participants, the pilgrimage brought a new context to theological learning.

From connections to destinations

Since 1989, Recinos has led delegations to El Salvador for universities, churches and medical mission teams. Following the country's civil war, which ended in 1992, his groups have met with leaders of political organizations, schools, women's organizations, ecumenical associations and Christian communities to better understand how faith has shaped the country's pursuit of justice and reconciliation. 

In 2025, the Rev. Ricky Harrison, dean of students and chaplain at McMurry University, invited Recinos to lead an immersion experience for McMurry students. Years earlier, Harrison's mother, a Perkins alumna, had participated in one of Recinos' pilgrimages, an experience that left a lasting impression on both of them. 

"I was happy to organize and lead the trip for McMurry University and contribute to the unfolding partnership between McMurry and Perkins School of Theology," Recinos said. 

The summer of 2026

The May 14-24 pilgrimage brought together 24 participants, including McMurry students, faculty and university leaders, who traveled throughout El Salvador to learn from local communities, religious leaders and organizations serving a country still shaped by the legacy of civil war. 

Students visited significant historical and religious sites, including the University of Central America, where six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter were killed in 1989, and the Chapel at Divine Providence Hospital, where Archbishop Óscar Romero was assassinated while celebrating Communion. By visiting these sites and learning from the communities that continue their witness, students encountered examples of faithful leadership in the face of suffering and injustice. 

Xochitl (Rubi) Hernandez, a junior majoring in public health and religion at McMurry, said the pilgrimage gave her an opportunity to explore topics she had long wanted to study 

"Learning about El Salvador's history during the civil war and the role the church has played throughout the years through figures such as Archbishop Óscar Romero, the four American church women and the Jesuit martyrs of the University of Central America deeply interested me," Hernandez said. "I wanted to better understand how faith communities have responded to suffering and worked toward justice." 

Rather than studying these events solely through textbooks, students were face-to-face with the places where history unfolded, giving them a deeper understanding of the people and their circumstances that shaped those events.  

"They discovered what I try to help seminarians understand in various classrooms: that theological understanding in the context of a crucified society like El Salvador means paying attention to the ethnographic details and faith traditions that have emerged from contexts of struggle," Recinos said. 

For Hernandez, her time in El Salvador reshaped her vocational journey. 

"This experience encouraged me to consider attending seminary after completing my undergraduate degree," Hernandez said. "Before this experience, I had not fully considered continuing my education in theology, but now I see the importance of being academically prepared in order to better serve others." 

The importance of undergraduate interactions

The pilgrimage exemplified the growing partnership between Perkins and McMurry by giving undergraduate students an opportunity to experience graduate-level theological inquiry while discerning how faith can inform lives of service.  

For some students, the experience also opened the possibility of continuing that formation through seminary education. For Recinos, it is one more example of the immersive approach he will continue offering Perkins students as they prepare for lives of ministry and service.