Ruben Quezada - For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada, the Cristero War and Mexicos Struggle for Religious Freedom

THE CRISTERO WAR AND MEXICOS
STRUGGLE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

THE CRISTERO WAR AND MEXICOS
STRUGGLE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

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RUBEN QUEZADA

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Published by

Saint Joseph Communications, Inc.
In association with
Ignatius Press

Copyright 2012 by Saint Joseph Communications, Inc.
Published 2012.

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ISBN: 978-1-57058-954-6

Photos from For Greater Glory courtesy of ARC Entertainment
Photo credit: Hana Matsumoto
Historical photos courtesy Museo Cristero
Cover design: John Herreid
Cover Photo: Hana Matsumoto

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To Father Raymond T. Brannon, S.J. (R.I.P.), who first introduced me to Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro and our Mexican martyrs .

And especially to Our Lady of Guadalupe in gratitude for her protection and intercession for all those who stood up for religious freedom during this struggle .

A.M.D.G.

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The author would like to thank the following for making this project a reality:

Archbishop of Los Angeles Jos H. Gomez, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, and Eduardo Verstegui, for their generosity and support of this project.

Tony Ryan and Mark Brumley of Ignatius Press, for reaching out to me for this very special project and for their great leadership.

Lisa Wheeler and all at The Maximus Group, for their vision and commitment to make this happen in such a short period of time.

Terry Barber, President of St. Joseph Communications, for allowing me to take the time necessary from my other commitments to make this happen.

Project Manager and Editor Matthew Arnold, for his unending support, vision, and valuable time to make this book a reality.

The anti-Catholic persecutions in Mexico in the 1920s and 1930s are long forgotten, it seems.

The reality is hard to believe. Just a generation ago, not far from our borders, thousands of men, women and even children, were imprisoned, exiled, tortured, and murdered. All for the crime of believing in Jesus Christ and wanting to live by their faith in him.

So I welcome the new film, For Greater Glory . It tells the dramatic story of this unknown war against religion and our Churchs heroic resistance. Its a strong film with a timely message. It reminds us that our religious liberties are won by blood and we can never take them for granted.

That such repression could happen in a nation so deeply Catholic as Mexico should make everybody stop and think. Mexico was the original cradle of Christianity in the New World. It was the missionary base from which most of North and South America, and parts of Asia, were first evangelized.

Yet following the revolution in 1917, the new atheist-socialist regime vowed to free the people from all fanaticism and prejudices.

Churches, seminaries and convents were seized, desecrated and many were destroyed. Public displays of piety and devotion were outlawed. Catholic schools and newspapers were shut down; Catholic political parties and labor unions banned. Priests were tortured and killed, many of them shot while celebrating Mass.

The dictator, Plutarco Elas Calles, used to boast about the numbers of priests he had executed. His hatred of organized religion ran deep. He really believed his reign of terror could exterminate the Church and wipe the memory of Christ from Mexico within a single generation.

He was wrong. In the forge of his persecution, saints were made.

It became a time of international Catholic solidarity. American Catholics opened their doors to refugees fleeing the violence. My predecessor, Archbishop John J. Cantwell, welcomed many here to Los Angelesincluding Venerable Maria Luisa Josefa de la Pea and Blessed Mara Ins Teresa Arias.

Ordinary Catholics became Cristeros , courageous defenders of Jesus Christ. Many felt compelled to take up arms to defend their rights in what became known as the Cristero War. Others chose nonviolent means to bear witness to Christ.

I die, but God does not die, Blessed Anacleto Gonzlez Flores said before his execution. His words were prophetic.

Martyrs are not defined by their dying but by what they choose to live for. And the Cristeros blood became the seed for the Church of future generations in Mexico.

I hope For Greater Glory , and this little companion book, will bring more people to know the stories of the Cristeros martyrs.

We need to know about the beautiful young catechist, Venerable Mara de la Luz Camacho. When the army came to burn her church down, she stood in front of the door and blocked their way. They shot her dead. But the church was somehow spared.

We need to know about all the heroic priests who risked their lives to celebrate Mass and hear confessions. Growing up, we had prayer cards made from a grainy photograph of one of these priests, Blessed Miguel Pro. He is standing before a firing squad without a blindfold, his arms stretched wide like Jesus on the cross as he cries out his last words: Viva Cristo Rey! (Long live Christ the King!)

We need to learn from the examples of all the Cristeros who have been canonized and beatified by the Church. And today especially, we need to pray for their intercession.

As it always has been, today our Catholic religion is under attack in places all over the world. In Mexico and America, we dont face suffering and death for practicing our faith. But we do confront softer forms of secularist bullying. And our societies are growing more aggressively secularized.

Already, sadly, weve accepted the rules and restrictions of our secular society. We keep our faith to ourselves. Were cautious about imposing our beliefs on othersespecially when it comes to politics. In recent months, our government has started demanding even moretrying to coerce our consciencesso that we deny our religious identity and values.

We need to ask for the strength to be Cristeros. By their dying, they show us what we should be living for. We need to make that our prayer. That like the Cristeros, we might be always ready to love and sacrifice to stand up for Jesus and his Church.

And may our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of Mexico and the Americas, and the bright star of the New Evangelization, pray for us.

The Most Rev. Jose H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles
Memorial of St. Christopher Magallanes, Priest and
Companions, Martyrs
May 21, 2012

I first heard the term religious persecution in 1978 when I was a 12-year-old dishwasher at Manresa Jesuit Retreat House in Azusa, California. The director, Fr. Raymond Brannon, S.J., was the first to introduce me to this expression. Although elderly, he would sit behind the large desk in his private residence where he still did his own administrative work. Oftentimes he would eat his meals there and I would come in to pick up the dishes.

One day as we spoke, I noticed a small prayer card taped to the wall behind him. It was a bit old and had turned yellow from the smoke of his ever-present cigarettes. Who is he? I asked, pointing to the card. Father turned around and, after searching his note-filled wall, realized to whom I was referring. He said, Fr. Pro! Hes Mexican, like you. Dont you know about him? I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head. Father continued, He was killed in Mexico for being a priest. Then, to my surprise, he raised his arms and made a gesture of someone firing a rifle and exclaimed, Boom! Thats what Mexico was doing with their priests. And one of them was one of ours, a Jesuit.