El Salvador had its first Mariapolis in 1982, with about 600 people. It was a real miracle given the extremely difficult conditions caused by the country’s civil war that had broken out two years before. It could be said that that Mariapolis marked the Movement’s consolidation as it included many people who would become core members. Today in the nation’s capital, the city of San Salvador, there are centres that coordinate the Movement’s life in the five countries of Central America.