Letter of February 3, 2006

Thirteen More Mexican Martyrs Beatified
Most Reverend Carl F. Mengeling, Bishop of Lansing

Catholics of the three Americas of our hemisphere, especially Mexico, rejoice again as thirteen Mexican martyrs were declared BLESSED!

On Sunday, November 20, 2005, the Solemnity of Christ the King, Cardinal Jose Martins, Prefect for Causes of Saints celebrated Mass as the Holy Father’s representative in Guadalajara, Mexico for the Beatification of 13 martyrs who died between 1927-1931.

Among the 13 new blessed Mexican martyrs are 10 laymen and 3 priests. One is a 14 year old youth, Jose Sanchez del Rio who suffered a cruel martyrdom. They are now added to the 22 Mexican diocesan priests martyrs canonized by John Paul II in Rome on May 21 in Jubilee 2000.

These excerpts are from the homily of Cardinal Martin’s given in Spanish in Jalisco Stadium at Guadalajara on November 20, 2005:

"This Solemnity of Christ the King has a very special meaning for the Mexican People. Pope Pius XI, in closing the Holy Year of 1925, proclaimed it a Feast for the universal Church. A few months later, the persecution against the Catholic faith was to be unleashed in this Land and many of the Church’s children were to die, recognized as Martyrs with the cry of "Long live Christ the King!" [Viva Cristo Rey!] on their lips. Thirteen of them have been beatified today.

Today, the Church of Mexico contemplates with special joy the faith and strength of these 13 men who, in recognition of Christ’s Kingdom, heroically offered their lives between 1927 and 1931. In adverse situations and in different particular Churches, these faithful sons of the Church bore a praiseworthy witness to the commitment they acquired on the day of their Baptism, and were able to pour out their blood for the love of Christ and his Church, which was being unjustly persecuted.

It is significant that 10 of these 13 new Blesseds were lay men from the States of Jalisco, Michoacán and Guanjuato. Most were married and had Christian families; the others, while unmarried, belonged to pious Christian families with sound habits.

Likewise, this new group of Martyrs includes three priests who died heroically carrying out their priestly and missionary ministry.

The list of these Blesseds is headed by Anacleto González Flores, who shed his blood in this city together with his brothers Jorge and Rámon Vargas González, and with Luis Padilla Gómez. Crying out, "I die but God never dies. Long live Christ the King!", Anacleto González Flores gave up his life to the Creator after an intensely devout existence and a fruitful and daring apostolate. During his life, after receiving a solid human and Christian formation, he devoted himself to fighting for the rights of the most deprived. A faithful expert in the Church’s social teaching, he sought to defend the fundamental rights of Christians in the light of the Gospel in an age of persecution.

Among the rights that Anacleto González and his Companion Martyrs most zealously defended was the right to religious freedom, a right that human dignity itself implies.

Moved by deep love of Jesus Christ and their neighbor, these new Blesseds defended this right peacefully, even by shedding their blood. Far from stirring up bloody conflicts, they sought the peaceful and conciliatory way to gain recognition for this and other fundamental rights that Mexican Catholics were denied. Indeed, Anacleto González and his Companion Martyrs strove, as far as they were able, to be agents of forgiveness and factors of unity in an age in which people happened to be divided.

Convinced that " ‘life’ means Christ; hence, dying is so much gain" (Phil 1:21), our Martyrs nourished this desire through frequent participation in and adoration of the Blessed Eucharistic devotion is one of the common characteristics of these 13 Martyrs.

Priests and laymen, they all showed a special love for Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. It should be mentioned in particular that three of the new Blesseds: the brothers, Ezequiel and Salvador Huerta Gutiérrez, and Luis MagaZa Servin, were members of the Association Nocturna del Santisimo Sacramento: this Association had a long tradition among the Mexican People. In frequent and fervent prayer before the Most Blessed Sacrament, these brothers of ours found the supernatural strength to bear martyrdom in a Christian way, even managing to forgive their executioners.

José Sánchez del Rio, Only 14
Because of his courage and his youth, the teenager José Sánchez del Rio from Sahuayo, Michoacán, deserves special attention. At the age of 14, he was capable of courageously witnessing to Jesus Christ. He was an exemplary son and family member who distinguished himself by his obedience, piety and spirit of service.

At the very beginning of the persecution, he developed the desire to be a martyr for Christ. He was so convinced that he wanted to pour out his blood for Christ that he impressed those who knew him. He was able to receive the palm of martyrdom after being tortured, and he addressed these last words to his parents: "We will see each other in Heaven. Long live Christ the King! Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe!"

The young Blessed José Sánchez del Rio should motivate all of us, especially you young people, to be witnesses of Christ in our daily lives.

Lastly, these 13 faithful sons of the Church has another feature in common. In addition to their intensely Eucharistic life, they were distinguished for their filial devotion to the Mother of God under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Most of them, like the other holy Mexican Martyrs already canonized, died with her name on their lips.

Let us ask for her motherly protection, most especially for the entire Mexican People as well as for the entire Continent, so that their zeal may be preserved and increased. Let us thank the Father of these new Blesseds, together with her, the Mother of the New Evangelization.

Let us also give thanks for the Church of Mexico which has not ceased to bear fruits of holiness. May Christ the King, the Good Shepherd, reign in the hearts of one and all.

Long live Christ the King! Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe! Amen.