Mexican Cristero Martyrs

Each member of this group of martyrs exercised their ministry or lay commitment heroically at the risk of their lives: * Saint Cristóbal Magallanes Jara (1869-1927): Parish priest of Totaltiche, he devoted himself to the evangelization of the Huichol indigenous people and to helping poor farmers. When the government closed the Guadalajara seminary, he founded a clandestine seminary in his own parish to ensure the training of future priests. He was executed by firing squad on May 25, 1927. * Saint Mateo Correa Magallanes (1866-1927): Priest and martyr of the seal of the confessional. Arrested while bringing the last sacraments to a sick person, he was ordered by General Eulogio Ortiz to reveal the content of the confessions of Cristero prisoners. Having categorically refused to betray the sacramental seal despite death threats, he was executed by firing squad on February 6, 1927. * Saint David Galván Bermúdez (1881-1915): Professor at the Guadalajara seminary, he devoted himself to caring for the wounded during the battles of the Mexican Revolution. He was executed by firing squad on January 30, 1915, for the sole fact of being a priest. * The three laymen: Manuel Morales (28 years old, married and father of three children), Salvador Lara Puente (21 years old), and David Roldán Lara (24 years old) were active members of Catholic Action and the National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty. They were arrested and executed by firing squad together on August 15, 1926, in Chalchihuites for refusing to renounce their faith and accept the anticlerical laws.

After the restoration of relative peace, the Mexican dioceses undertook the collection of testimonies and evidence of the martyrdom of these priests and laypeople, who died in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith). The official diocesan inquiry was opened on August 22, 1960. After examination by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the validity of the inquiry was decreed on May 24, 1991. The decree officially recognizing their martyrdom was promulgated by Pope John Paul II on March 7, 1992, paving the way for their beatification.

* Beatification: The group of 25 martyrs was beatified on November 22, 1992, by Pope John Paul II during a solemn celebration in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. * Canonization: Following the recognition of a miracle attributed to their collective intercession by a decree on June 28, 1999, they were canonized on May 21, 2000, by Pope John Paul II in Rome, in St. Peter's Square, during the Jubilee of the year 2000. * Liturgical feast: They are celebrated collectively on May 21. The Roman Martyrology also commemorates each martyr individually on the anniversary date of their death.

The spirituality of these martyrs is deeply Eucharistic and Marian. They drew their strength from the daily celebration of the Mass, often clandestine, and from the recitation of the Rosary. Facing death, they all manifested an attitude of explicit forgiveness toward their executioners, refusing any personal armed violence. Their rallying cry, "¡Viva Cristo Rey!" (Long live Christ the King!) and "¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!" (Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe!), became the symbol of peaceful resistance and the fidelity of the Mexican Church to Rome. Their legacy remains alive in Mexico, notably through the Sanctuary of the Martyrs of Christ the King built on the Cerro del Tesoro in Guadalajara, which houses their relics.