Sanchez del Rio, Jose

José Sánchez del Río was born on March 28, 1913 in the Mexican city ​​of Saujo , the state of Michoacan . He was the third child in the family of Macario Sanchez and Maria del Rio, devout Catholics, and was baptized in the local church on April 3 ^[1] . José took his First Communion at the age of 9, and since then he especially honored the Virgin of Guadalupe ^[2] . He studied first in his hometown, then continued his studies in Guadalajara . Already at this time he joined the ranks of the Association of Mexican Catholic Youth (ACJM) ^[3] .

When Jose was 12 years old, a military conflict broke out between government forces and rebels, known as the “ Christeros War” or “Christiada” ( Spanish: Guerra Cristera, Cristiada ). The rebels' actions were directed against the anti-Church policy of President Plutarco Calles and the Constitution of 1917, which deprived the Roman Catholic Church of most of its privileges and property. Del Rio's two older brothers went to war, but José stayed at home, as his mother did not let him go because of his young age. For the same reason, the local commander, the cristeros, refused the boy. Despite this, Jose continued to insist that he be released into the ranks of the rebels. It is believed that the decisive phrase that convinced the mother to let her son go was: “Mom, it was never so easy to reach heaven as it is now” ( Mamá, nunca ha sido tan fácil ganarse el cielo como ahora ) ^[3] .

Arriving at General Prudencio Mendoza, José was determined by him to join Luis Gisar Morfin’s detachment as adjutant ^[1] . Then, in the ranks of the Christeros, Jose became the standard-bearer and received the nickname Tartsizii , in honor of the Christian martyr ^[4] .

On February 6, 1928, José Sánchez del Río took part in a battle between government forces and the cristeros, during which General Morfin Gisara’s horse was killed, and he was temporarily unable to continue the fight. Then Jose jumped off his horse and cried out: “My general, here is my horse. Save yourself, even if they kill me - I am not important, but you ” ^[5] . After the boy helped the general climb a horse, he began to seek shelter and shoot back from the enemy, until he had spent all his ammunition. José, his friend Lazarus, and a few more cristaros were captured and locked up in the local church.

Captivity

Captured José and Lazar were brought to Kotikh by a local general, who immediately asked them why they were fighting against government forces, knowing that this was a crime whose death penalty was. Then the general offered them assistance in escaping, provided that Jose and Lazar would go over to the side of the government, to which Jose del Rio refused, ^[2] after which he was placed in the city prison. There he asked for a sheet of paper and ink to write a letter to his mother, asking him not to worry.

On February 7, both prisoners were transported to their native Sauayo and placed in the building of the former church, which the local deputy Rafael Pikasso turned into a chicken coop ^[1] . On February 8, José heard the roosters begin to be slaughtered in the church, and he flew into a rage, shouting: “The house of God is for prayer, and not a shelter for animals” ^[6] . Pikaso threatened the boy a lot, trying to break his spirit, once, in response to the next threats, he replied that he was ready to die, because then he would go to heaven and appear before God, and be able to ask him to punish all the torturers of the cristeros ^[1] . For this, Rafael Pikaso hit Jose so hard that he knocked out several teeth.

At 5.30 pm on February 8, government troops led Lazarus to execution. Traditionally, the rebels were hanged either in trees or pillars, so they did the same with a friend, José. But the unforeseen happened - Lazarus survived and with the help of a guard who sympathized with the Catholics, managed to escape. After that, Jose was tried to pay the ransom, but his father was unable to collect the required amount.

Penalty

On February 10, at about 6 pm, Jose was pronounced a death sentence. He asked for ink and wrote the last letter to his aunt Magdalena. At 11 o'clock in the evening, in order to try to break the captive’s determination even before his death, they tore off their skin from Jose’s feet and made them walk barefoot through the city to a local cemetery. On the way, some of the guards continued the beatings, which intensified when they finally reached the place of execution. In response to the torture, José Sánchez del Rio just shouted: ¡Viva Cristo Rey! ¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe! Finally, the captain of the guard snatched out a pistol and shot him ^[2] .

Glorification

José Sánchez del Río was canonized along with 11 other Mexican martyrs on November 20, 2005. The ceremony took place at the Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, chaired by Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins , representing Pope Benedict XVI.

On October 16, 2016, Pope Francis canonized José Sánchez del Río ^[7]

• Luis Alfonso Orozco. José Sánchez del Río, Mártir de Cristo Rey (Spanish) . es.catholic.net. The appeal date is February 27, 2013.
• Margaret Galitzin. José Sanchez del Rio, Martyr for Christ the King (Eng.) . traditioninaction.org. The appeal date is February 27, 2013. Archived March 23, 2013.
• Beato Mártir José Sánchez del Río "El niño mártir" (Spanish) . josesanchezdelrio.com. The appeal date is February 27, 2013. Archived April 6, 2013.