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The Cristero Counterrevolution and the Battle for the Soul of Mexico
A true religious war, never before seen on our continent, broke out as a result of certain persecutory laws against the Church and her faithful in Mexico from 1926 to 1929. In the conflict, a large part of the Catholic laity, using peaceful means at first and later violent ones, took up arms against the civil government—even to the regret and against the advice of many in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, unsure of the right course of action to take. Shouting “Long live Christ the King and Holy Mary of Guadalupe!,” Mexican Catholics defended the rights of God against a state dominated by secularist and anti-Christian ideology. Both the government and the Vatican, with the steady connivance of the United States, saw how detrimental the ongoing struggle was to their mutual interests; in consequence, an agreement or modus vivendi was reached and reluctantly accepted by the Cristero combatants, who, in the end, were betrayed by it.
In this compelling book, published in multiple Spanish editions and now available in English for the conflict’s centenary in 2026, Fr. Ravasi tells the harrowing tale of the Cristero counterrevolution as seen through the eyes of its immediate protagonists—a story of unbelievable wickedness, corruption, and brutality opposed by unprecedented Catholic action, bravery, and sacrifice.
In this compelling book, published in multiple Spanish editions and now available in English for the conflict’s centenary in 2026, Fr. Ravasi tells the harrowing tale of the Cristero counterrevolution as seen through the eyes of its immediate protagonists—a story of unbelievable wickedness, corruption, and brutality opposed by unprecedented Catholic action, bravery, and sacrifice.
- GenresHistory
316 pages, Paperback
Published September 5, 2025
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March 11, 2026
Somewhat strange Spring Break reading at the beach, much more appropriate as Lenten reading, this fine volume brings into English a valuable study of the Cristero resistance to revolutionary tyranny in Mexico a century ago.
Readers may be familiar with Graham Greene's "whisky priest" novel The Power and the Glory; Fr. Ravasi's book provides the historical background. It is, alas, a sad story: the Cristeros fought brilliantly and gained a strong position; but, forsaken by the Mexican bishops (with several honorable exceptions) and the Papacy, were obliged to accept an armistice that they knew would be immediately betrayed by the other side, as indeed it was.
I was perhaps most impressed by the seriousness with which the Cristeros, despite their straitened circumstances, examined their actions according to the Church's framework of jus ad bellum. In this they were almost unique in all the grim decades of the prior century. Subsequent to the First World War, all other fighting forces simply set this question aside, along with the related question of justice-in-war. Most of them, even the nominally Christian ones, did not even bother to conceal their willingness to massacre noncombatants; a great many even boasted of it.
It seems to me not too much to say that the Cristeros were the most authentically Christian army of the 20th century.
While neither a military history per se, nor a comprehensive study of conflict, the book focuses on the Cristeros -- their organizations, leaders, thought, and above all their progression from nonviolent resistance to taking up arms against the oppressors. (There is also a hair-raising section on the occult enthusiasm of their enemies.)
Quite accessible in length, admirably readable of translation, the book's lessons apply far beyond its seemingly narrow field of study. I recommend it to those interested in the agonies of the last century and the cruelties of modern revolution; but above all those interested in how Christians in arms should conduct themselves in the teeth of those cruelties.
Readers may be familiar with Graham Greene's "whisky priest" novel The Power and the Glory; Fr. Ravasi's book provides the historical background. It is, alas, a sad story: the Cristeros fought brilliantly and gained a strong position; but, forsaken by the Mexican bishops (with several honorable exceptions) and the Papacy, were obliged to accept an armistice that they knew would be immediately betrayed by the other side, as indeed it was.
I was perhaps most impressed by the seriousness with which the Cristeros, despite their straitened circumstances, examined their actions according to the Church's framework of jus ad bellum. In this they were almost unique in all the grim decades of the prior century. Subsequent to the First World War, all other fighting forces simply set this question aside, along with the related question of justice-in-war. Most of them, even the nominally Christian ones, did not even bother to conceal their willingness to massacre noncombatants; a great many even boasted of it.
It seems to me not too much to say that the Cristeros were the most authentically Christian army of the 20th century.
While neither a military history per se, nor a comprehensive study of conflict, the book focuses on the Cristeros -- their organizations, leaders, thought, and above all their progression from nonviolent resistance to taking up arms against the oppressors. (There is also a hair-raising section on the occult enthusiasm of their enemies.)
Quite accessible in length, admirably readable of translation, the book's lessons apply far beyond its seemingly narrow field of study. I recommend it to those interested in the agonies of the last century and the cruelties of modern revolution; but above all those interested in how Christians in arms should conduct themselves in the teeth of those cruelties.
Displaying 1 of 1 review