José Sánchez del Río
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José Luis Sánchez del Río was a young Mexican Cristero who was put to death by government officials because he refused to give up his Catholic faith. He has been declared a martyr and was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on November 20, 2005.
He was born on March 28, 1913, in Sahuayo. He attended school in his home town, and later in Guadalajara, Jalisco. When the Cristero War broke out in 1926, his brothers joined the rebel forces, but his mother would not allow him to take part. The rebel general, Prudencio Mendoza, also refused his enlistment. The boy insisted that he wanted the chance to give his life for Christ and so come to Heaven easily.
The general finally relented and allowed José to become the flagbearer of the troop. The Cristeros nicknamed him Tarcisius, after the early Christian saint, martyred for protecting the Eucharist from desecration.
During heavy fighting on February 25, 1928, the general's horse was killed, and José gave his horse to the general so that the battle could go on. Then he sought cover and fired at the enemy until he ran out of ammunition. The government troops captured the boy and imprisoned him in the sacristy of the local church.
To break his resolve, he was made to watch the hanging of another Cristero that they had in custody, but instead José encouraged the man, saying that they would soon meet again in Heaven. In prison, José prayed the rosary daily and wrote an emotional letter to his mother, saying that he was ready to fulfill the will of God. His father attempted to raise a ransom to save him, but was not able to appease the government in time.
José was told that he had only to say "Death to Christ the King!" and he would be let free, but the young man resolutely shouted, "Long live Christ the King!" In the evening of February 10, 1928, the government officials skinned the soles of his feet and then forced him to walk towards the town cemetery. José cried in pain, but continued to defy the orders of the soldiers.
Upon reaching the cemetery, he was made to stand in a grave that had been dug for him and given one last opportunity to reject Jesus. When he again shouted the Cristero cry of "Long live Christ the King," he was shot by the soldiers seven times and killed. He was shot first in the head, and still alive, he drew in the ground a big cross with his blood. After the other shots, he died kissing the cross.
