MIRACULOUS MIRACLES™

Saint — José Sánchez del Río

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St. José Sánchez del Río
March 28, 1913 AD, Sahuayo, Michoacán, Mexico — February 10, 1928 AD, Sahuayo, Michoacán — tortured and shot for refusing to renounce Christ the King
Mexican Cristero teenage martyr (age 14, 1928)
Parish Church of Santiago Apóstol, Sahuayo, Michoacán, Mexico — shrine, Mexico
Feast
February 10
Canonized
Canonized October 16, 2016 by Pope Francis
✠ MartyrTortured and shot at Sahuayo, crying '¡Viva Cristo Rey!' → The Martyrs
Life

José Luis Sánchez del Río was born on March 28, 1913 at Sahuayo, Michoacán to a Mexican Catholic family. During the Cristero War (1926–1929, the systematic Mexican Catholic uprising against the anti-Catholic Calles Law), at the age of 14, José joined the Cristero forces as flag-bearer.

On February 6, 1928, at the Battle of Cotija, José was captured after giving his horse to his commander General Prudencio Mendoza.

Imprisoned at the Sahuayo parish church (desecrated to serve as prison), José was subjected to systematic torture: the soles of his feet were cut off and he was forced to walk on salt.

Repeatedly offered the choice of renouncing Christ the King (the Cristero battle-cry 'Viva Cristo Rey') or death, José famously refused: '¡Viva Cristo Rey! ¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!'

On February 10, 1928, José was shot at the Sahuayo cemetery at the age of 14.

Canonized October 16, 2016 by Pope Francis.

Miracles & Phenomena

  • The Cristero teenage martyr

    St. José Sánchez del Río's martyrdom on February 10, 1928 at the age of 14 — the Cristero teenage martyr — established the 20th-century Catholic teenage-martyr tradition. His final cry '¡Viva Cristo Rey!' institutionally became the Mexican Cristero battle-cry.

Relics
  • Body
    Relics of St. José Sánchez del Río
    Parish Church of Santiago Apóstol, Sahuayo, Michoacán, Mexico

    His relics rest at the Parish Church of Santiago Apóstol at Sahuayo.

Iconography
  • José at the Sahuayo cemetery

    The 14-year-old Mexican boy in Cristero-era peasant dress being shot at the Sahuayo cemetery on February 10, 1928 with the cry '¡Viva Cristo Rey!' on his lips — the iconography of Catholic Cristero teenage-martyr tradition.

Patronages
Catholic Cristero War martyr traditionCatholic teenage martyr traditionMexico and the Michoacán Catholic tradition
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