Martyrs of Cajonos

The life of the Martyrs of Cajonos is set within the context of the second evangelization of colonial Mexico, where missionaries relied on indigenous lay auxiliaries to structure Christian communities. As fiscales, Juan Bautista and Jacinto de los Ángeles served as catechists and guardians of ecclesial discipline. To reach this high rank within the Zapotec social and religious hierarchy, they had climbed all the traditional rungs: altar boys, then judges, councilors, municipal presidents, and constitutional mayors.

Their primary work was the transmission of the faith and the protection of their community against clandestine syncretic or pagan practices. On September 14, 1700, while on their rounds, they discovered that a village inhabitant, José Flores, was organizing a secret pagan ritual involving the worship of traditional idols. Faithful to their duty, they immediately informed the Dominican fathers responsible for the parish, Father Alonso de Vargas and Father Gaspar de los Reyes. Accompanied by the priests and a few Spaniards, they intervened to interrupt the ceremony and confiscate the idolatrous objects of worship. This act of fidelity to the Gospel would trigger the anger of a portion of the local population attached to the ancient rites.

The day after the intervention, on September 15, 1700, an angry crowd, armed and incited by the organizers of the ritual, besieged the Dominican convent of San Francisco Cajonos where Juan Bautista and Jacinto de los Ángeles had taken refuge. To prevent the priests from being massacred, the two fiscales agreed to surrender to the rioters.

They were dragged by force to the neighboring village of San Pedro, and then to Santo Domingo Xagacía. During their captivity, they endured cruel torture. Their executioners promised them their lives if they would agree to renounce Christ and sacrifice to the idols. It was then that they pronounced their famous profession of faith, reported by witnesses of the time: "Una vez bautizados, seguiremos siempre la verdadera religión" ("Once baptized, we will always follow the true religion").

On September 16, 1700, they were led to the summit of the Cerro de las Hojas (known since then as Monte Fiscal-Santos). After being scourged again, they were thrown from the top of the cliff, finished off with machete blows, and beheaded. Their assassins tore out their hearts. Their bodies were thrown into a pit on the mountain.

In 1889, the Archbishop of Oaxaca, Msgr. Eulogio Gillow, recovered their mortal remains and had them solemnly transferred to the Cathedral of Oaxaca, thus reviving the memory of their sacrifice. After a long period of dormancy, the cause for beatification was officially reactivated in the late 1980s under the impetus of the successive Archbishops of Oaxaca, Msgr. Bartolomé Carrasco Briseño and Msgr. Héctor González Martínez. On July 7, 2001, Pope John Paul II signed the decree officially recognizing their martyrdom in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith).

The beatification ceremony for the Martyrs of Cajonos was celebrated on August 1, 2002, by Pope John Paul II. It took place at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, the day after the canonization of Saint Juan Diego.

This celebration was marked by a strong dimension of inculturation, incorporating numerous elements of Mexican indigenous traditions. Representatives of the Mixtec and Zapotec peoples participated actively in the liturgy, performing readings in their native languages and executing the traditional "Dance of the Feather" (Danza de la Pluma). During the Mass, the Pope also received a traditional purification blessing (limpia) using herbs and incense, symbolizing the reconciliation between the Church and indigenous cultures.

The spirituality of Juan Bautista and Jacinto de los Ángeles rests entirely on absolute fidelity to the promises of their baptism. For these two fathers, baptism was not a simple rite of passage, but an existential commitment that took precedence over their own lives.

Their legacy is particularly significant for the indigenous communities of Latin America. During their beatification, John Paul II emphasized that they are "the fruit of the holiness of the first evangelization among the Zapotec Indians." They demonstrate that it is possible to reach the heights of Christian holiness while remaining deeply rooted in one's cultural identity and legitimate ancestral traditions. Today, they are venerated as the patrons of catechists and laypeople involved in the Archdiocese of Oaxaca, and their relics still rest in the city's cathedral.