(d. 1915-1937)
Their story
+ The group of martyrs commemorated today includes 22 Mexican priests and 3 laymen who were martyred between 1915 and 1937 during the religious persecutions of the Mexican Revolution.
+ As tension increased in Mexico, bishops suspended public worship and ordered their priests into hiding. Many priests, especially in rural areas, continued to provide pastoral care.
+ Among those killed was Padre Cristobal Magallanes Jara, the pastor of the parish at Totalice, who was murdered on May 25, 1921, as he made his way to celebrate Mass at a local ranch.
+ Saint Cristobal Magallanes and the Marytrs of the Mexican Revolution were canonized in 2000.
Worth knowing
The hauntingly powerful novel The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene takes place during the years of persecution of the Mexican Revolution and tells the story of an un-named priest who is being hunted by the police.
For reflection
“Faithful to God and to the Catholic faith so deeply rooted in the ecclesial communities which the martyrs served by also promoting their material well-being, today they are an example to the whole Church and to Mexican society in particular.”—Pope Saint John Paul II
Prayer
Almighty and eternal God, who made the Priest Saint Christopher Magallanes and his companions faithful to Christ the King even to the point of martyrdom, grant us, through their intercession, that, persevering in confession of the true faith, we may always hold fast to the commandments of your love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal)
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
And today we celebrate...