PHOTOS: Moving Visit of Cristero Martyrs’ Relics Fills Denver Parishes with Faith
- Rocio Madera
- 2 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Queen of Peace Parish in Aurora and St. Cajetan Parish in Denver received first-class relics of six Mexican martyrs.
The historic cry of the Cristeros, “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” (“Long live Christ the King!”), echoed last weekend in Denver as Queen of Peace Parish in Aurora and St. Cajetan Parish in Denver received first-class relics of six Mexican martyrs. In collaboration with the Knights of Columbus, this special visit gave the faithful the opportunity to venerate these courageous men who gave their lives for their faith during the Cristero War.
The reliquary, made of silver and shaped like a cross, contains bone fragments from six of the 25 Cristero martyrs canonized by Pope St. John Paul II in the year 2000: Sts. Luis Batis Sainz, Rodrigo Aguilar Alemán, Miguel de la Mora, Pedro de Jesús Maldonado Lucer, José María Robles Hurtado, Rafael Guízar Valencia and Mateo Correa Magallanes. All of them were Mexican priests and members of the Knights of Columbus who were killed during the religious persecution in Mexico in the 1920s.
Father Israel Pérez-López, pastor of St. Cajetan Parish in Denver, shared the deep significance of venerating the relics of the Cristero martyrs.
“It has been a blessing to have the relics of the Mexican martyrs in our parish. For Catholics, the saints are like older brothers in the faith who are already in Heaven. They intercede for us and are a sign of hope,” Father Pérez-López told the Denver Catholic.
(Photos by Juan Andrés Coriat/Denver Catholic)
He also highlighted the important role the saints play in our lives.
“God made them saints, and without a doubt, he is capable of making us saints as well. They are also an example for our Christian life,” he said.
In this time of the New Evangelization, the example of the Cristero martyrs takes on special importance, calling us to live our faith with courage and to be authentic witnesses of Christ’s love, as Father Pérez-López recalled.
“The word ‘martyr’ means, etymologically, ‘witness.’ The witness of martyrial charity is the heart of the mission to which we are called in the New Evangelization. Everything else is and always will be secondary,” he added.
The community’s response was immediate. After each Mass, hundreds of people approached the reliquary to venerate it, remembering the sacrifice of these martyrs who gave their lives for Christ and for religious freedom. Some of those who attended have family roots in regions of Mexico where the Cristero War took place, so the presence of the relics stirred particular emotion.
For the Knights of Columbus, who organized this first visit of the relics to Colorado, bringing them to the Hispanic community was a way to thank them for the support they have given the organization over the years and to strengthen their ties with Colorado’s Hispanic community.
“The Knights of Columbus in Colorado wanted to find a way to give back to the Hispanic community and say, ‘Thank you!’ We see you, we appreciate you, we value you and we want you to be part of us. Allow us to be part of your culture and your lives,” shared Marc Solome, Colorado state deputy for the Knights of Columbus.
Without a doubt, the presence of these relics in both parishes offered the faithful an encounter with the legacy of faith of the Cristero martyrs, reminding them of the courage and sacrifice of those who heroically proclaimed, “¡Viva Cristo Rey!”
“The testimony of the martyrs speaks to us of the highest degree of charity, because no one has greater love than the one who lays down his life, as the Lord says,” Father Pérez-López concluded.
Next visit of the relics of the Mexican martyrs in Colorado
Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of the Divine Redeemer
Colorado Springs, CO
Friday, March 13
Saturday, March 14
Sunday, March 15
