by César Franco
“Long live Christ the King! Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe!”
“Long live Christ the King! Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe!”
Exactly one hundred years ago, this cry of militant Faith echoed throughout Mexico. It was the beginning of the Cristiada, the military epic of the Cristeros, as these Catholic militants were disparagingly called. Today, it is a title of glory.
A Forbidden Topic
For decades, the history of the Cristiada was hidden behind a widespread campaign of silence. Talking about it was political suicide. An extended discussion could be deadly.
Jean Meyer, a Sorbonne history professor married to a Mexican woman, was the first to break the silence. His monumental three-volume work, La Cristiada, was published between 1973 and 1975. His research is impressive because of his interviews with some of the Cristiada’s main figures or their children.
Even so, the subject remained largely unknown to the general public. The famous film For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada (2012) brought the topic to the attention of an international audience. When producers contacted Andy García about playing General Enrique Gorostieta, the actor said he had previously known nothing about the war. He had to study history to play the role.
A Medieval Epic in the Twentieth Century
¡Viva Cristo Rey! was the battle cry of Catholics, young and old, rich and poor, educated and uneducated. These faithful men and women risked their lives to defend the one, Holy, Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Faith in Mexico.
These faithful men and women risked their lives to defend the one, Holy, Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Faith in Mexico. | Photo: © Public Domain
The invocation of Christ the King was deliberate. The Cristeros weren’t only fighting to restore Catholic worship in Mexico and the Church’s rights. They also strove to establish a social order over which Christ would reign, as Pius XI emphasized in Quas Primas (1925). They drew on the historic devotion to the Sacred Heart, passed down to them through Jesuit missionaries. In doing so, they linked themselves with a genuinely counter-revolutionary movement.
Their epic struggle compares with that of the French Vendéens, who fought “for the Altar and the Throne.” Others compare it to the Spanish Carlists, fighting “for God, for the Fatherland, and for the King.” They drew inspiration from figures of the medieval Crusades, adopting some of their symbols. The Cristiada was a medieval epic set in the early twentieth century.
An Anti-Catholic Revolution
Two Cristero soldiers who fought to restore Catholic worship in Mexico and the Church’s rights. | Photo: © Public Domain
In 1910, another revolution broke out in Mexico. General Francisco Ignacio Madero rose against Porfirio Díaz’s dictatorship, which had been in power since 1876. Various factions—not always aligned—joined the insurrection. These included agrarian forces led by Emiliano Zapata and socialist forces led by Pancho Villa. Even a grandson of the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi, Peppino Garibaldi, participated in this revolution.
Madero was elected president in 1911 but was subsequently overthrown and killed by more radical factions. 1913 marked the definitive victory of the socialist factions. In 1917, a new Constitution with strong socialist and anti-Catholic overtones was adopted.
The 1917 Constitution forbade Catholic schools, religious orders, and Church ownership of real estate. All religious acts, including Holy Mass, required government permission and supervision. The state set itself up as superior to the Church in every respect.
In fact, the 1917 Constitution was so strongly anti-Catholic that two consecutive presidents, Venustiano Carranza (1917–1920) and Álvaro Obregón (1920–1924), hesitated to enforce it fully.
However, the revolution persecuted the Church whenever it could. In 1915, for example, 160 priests were murdered. In 1921, there was a famous bomb attack against Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Basilica suffered extensive damage, but the image of Our Lady remained miraculously intact.
Plutarco Elías Calles
In 1924, Plutarco Elías Calles, another socialist, seized power. He immediately began enforcing the Constitution in its most radical applications, leading to widespread persecution against the Catholic Church.
Plutarco Elías Calles, a socialist, who seized power and caused widespread persecution against the Catholic Church. | Photo: © Public Domain
Inspired by the French Revolution and its “Constitutional Church,” Calles attempted to establish a national Church, separate from Rome. When this bizarre project failed, he unleashed an increasingly fierce persecution. On January 4, 1926, he enacted a law imposing strict application of the Constitution, including increased penalties through a reform of the Penal Code.
Repression and Reaction
At the core of this impressive reaction was a strong Catholic movement, with clearly counter-revolutionary views and a militant stance. | Photo: © Public Domain
Calles banned the cassock and outlawed expressions such as “thank God” and “God willing.” Even the traditional adios was forbidden because it refers to God (Dios). Calles’s troops rode into churches on horseback, interrupting religious services to arrest priests, dozens of whom were killed. Soldiers reveled in churches. Calles also forced Catholic government employees to choose between renouncing their Faith or losing their jobs. Ruffians attacked the faithful leaving Mass and disrupted religious processions throughout the country.
Given the strong religious devotion of the Mexican people, the situation was clearly untenable. Catholics could no longer remain passive.
The Catholic response developed in three main stages: a doctrinal campaign, a series of boycotts, and, when all else failed, armed insurrection. At the core of this impressive reaction was a strong Catholic movement, with clearly counter-revolutionary views and a militant stance.
The Leadership
On March 9, 1925, the Liga Nacional de Defensa de la Libertad Religiosa was founded in Mexico City. A veteran Catholic leader, attorney Rafael Ceniceros y Villarreal, led it. According to historian Jean Meyer, “Ceniceros was convinced that the Church saved souls, civilized society, inspired politics, humanized the economy, and shaped the nation.”
Anacleto González Flores, known as “the Master,” who was awarded the Cross pro Ecclesia et Pontifice by Pius XI. | Photo: © Wikimedia Commons, Diegoromch, CC BY 4.0
In addition to the Liga, the Asociación Católica de la Juventud Mexicana (ACJM) played a leadership role. It was founded in 1913 by the Jesuit Father Bernard Bergöend and was modeled after the Marian sodalities. Its motto was “For God and Country.” Its goal was to organize the country’s active forces to restore Christian social order in Mexico. Its first president was René Capistrán Garza.
The ACJM was organized at both diocesan and parish levels and eventually included over twenty thousand members. It focused on doctrinal formation and practical solutions for current issues. Anacleto González Flores, known as “the Master,” was undoubtedly the movement’s main intellectual leader.
In May, 1925, Pius XI awarded him the Cross pro Ecclesia et Pontifice “for his work in defense of the religiosity of Mexican Catholics.” On April 1, 1927, he was taken prisoner and shot on the orders of Plutarco Elías Calles.
Others joined the resistance through the work of the Unión Católica Mexicana, known as “la U.” On the women’s side, there were groups like the Brigades of Saint Joan of Arc and the Pious Daughters of Mary.
Attempts at Non-Violent Persuasion
On March 14, 1925, the Liga released its first doctrinal leaflet. Almost instantly, something remarkable happened: hundreds of thousands of volunteers took to the streets to distribute the Liga’s leaflet to passersby. Defying the authorities, young Catholic pilots flew over cities in their planes, scattering thousands of leaflets into the wind. Young boys left leaflets in mailboxes. A crusading spirit was in the air. Everyone felt called to action.
Calles took the persecution to an extreme that is hard to imagine. It became “fashionable” to display the severed heads of Catholic leaders and hang their corpses from streetlamps. | Photo: © Public Domain
The Calles government met the campaign by escalating persecution. The Liga Nacional then organized a boycott of all state-made products. Domestic production collapsed. Tobacco sales dropped by 75%. Movie theaters stayed empty. Public transportation was irregular. No one purchased gasoline or lottery tickets. Adding a stroke of genius, the Liga promoted the boycott with dozens of hot-air balloons bearing the word “Boycott!” on their sides, flying over major cities. At the same time, the League launched a petition against the religious crackdown, which collected nearly two million signatures (out of a population of fifteen million).
Instead of recognizing the Liga’s popularity, Calles took the persecution to an extreme that is hard to imagine. He created “anti-fanaticism brigades,” tasked with tracking down Catholic leaders across the country and killing them without trial. It became “fashionable” to display the severed heads of Catholic leaders and hang their corpses from streetlamps.
Faced with this situation, the Church made a powerful symbolic gesture. Starting August 1, 1926, the Mexican bishops, with Vatican approval, suspended public worship in Mexico. There were no more Masses or sacraments.
The Cristiada Erupts
After all peaceful and legal means were exhausted, and after consulting eminent theologians and seeking the Vatican’s guidance, Mexican Catholics took up arms against the government. It marked the start of the Cristiada.
The initial clash between federal troops and the Cristeros occurred on August 29 in Huejuquilla el Alto, Jalisco, ending in a decisive Catholic victory. Uprisings quickly spread through Jalisco, Nayarit, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, and Michoacán, then gradually across the entire central region of the country.
The spirit of crusade dominated the movement. Just as their crusader ancestors charged into battle shouting “God wills it,” the Cristeros charged the enemy shouting “¡Viva Cristo Rey!”
Calles’s troops responded with their own battle cry: “¡Viva Satanás!” (Long live Satan!).
A Military Leader Emerges
In its early days, the Cristiada had mixed results. Defeats followed victories, and the rebels struggled to control their territory. The Cristero army was composed mostly of peasants, full of Faith and enthusiasm, but poorly armed and lacking a clear battle plan. It was a war of hit-and-run guerrilla tactics. Sadly, few members of the elite—landowners, professionals and others—joined the insurrection.
The fortunes of war changed in July 1927, when General Enrique Gorostieta Velarde took command of the Cristero army. Gorostieta was a career officer and a veteran of the revolutionary wars. For a long time, many commentators said that he was an atheist and that he accepted the position only for the money. This has now been dispelled. He was shocked at where the Revolution was going in its bloody persecution of the Catholic Church, as well as the moral corruption being introduced into the schools. He accepted the challenge many considered impossible.
General Enrique Gorostieta Velarde, who took command of the Cristero army. | Photo: © Public Domain
Gorostieta succeeded in bringing organization and military discipline to the disorganized insurrection. He unified the military commands and brought all the forces together under the National Guard. From the moment he took command of the Cristero army, the insurgents defeated the federal army in all the regions where it was present: Jalisco, Michoacán, Colima, and Zacatecas.
Initially, the National Guard had 12,000 fighters. That number increased to 25,000 in 1928 and peaked at 50,000 in 1929. It was a true army—well-organized, well-armed, and, most importantly, motivated. All the government’s efforts to crush the rebellion failed. The Cristeros defeated entire divisions of federal troops. Victory seemed close.
“Peace Talks” Dominated by Greed
Unfortunately, the federal government managed to infiltrate an agent into General Gorostieta’s inner circle. He was betrayed and killed on June 2, 1929. He is buried in the parish church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Jalisco.
The war was already coming to an end. Hostilities ended three weeks afterward. U.S. Ambassador Dwight D. Morrow directed the peace talks. President Calvin Coolidge had instructed Morrow to end the war to avoid jeopardizing American interests in Mexico.
Likewise, the overwhelming majority of Mexican bishops did not support the insurrection and withdrew their support for the Liga. Despite the fierce persecution under Calles, they preferred a conciliatory approach.
The fate of the Cristiada was sealed.
The “Arreglos”
On June 21, 1929, the Arreglos (agreements) were signed, resulting in an immediate ceasefire, the insurgents’ disarmament, and their “immunity.” The terms of the agreement were disastrous: the anti-Catholic laws remained in effect.
Obeying the bishops’ orders, the Cristeros laid down their arms. Violating the promises of immunity, federal troops shot many. Towns that had sheltered the Cristeros were destroyed. The persecution of the clergy continued – the number of priests in Mexico fell from about 4,500 in 1926 to just 334 in 1934.
Indeed, the Cristiada was a chapter in the centuries-long struggle between the Virgin Mary and the serpent. There were many examples of genuine holiness, like the actions of young José Santos del Río. | Photo: © Public Domain
Indeed, the Cristiada was a chapter in the centuries-long struggle between the Virgin Mary and the serpent. There were many examples of genuine holiness. The actions of young José Santos del Río—canonized in 2016—were immortalized in the film For Greater Glory. In 2000, Pope John Paul II declared twenty-five Cristero martyrs blessed. In 2005, Benedict XVI beatified another thirteen Cristeros, including Anacleto González Florez. Currently, there are as many as forty canonization processes ongoing for individuals involved in the Cristero War.
The Catholic Church in Mexico never recovered its freedom as the government continues to implement policies harmful to the Faith. The unfortunate “dialogue” with the enemies of the Faith only brought misfortune to the Church in Mexico.
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