Mexican Martyrdom: Firsthand Accounts of the Religious Persecution in Mexico 1926-1935

by Wilfrid Parsons

Mexican Martyrdom is a series of true stories of the terrible anti-Catholic persecutions which took place in Mexico in the 1920s. Told by the Jesuit priest, Fr. Wilfrid Parson, these stories are based upon cases he had seen himself or that had been described to him personally by the people who had undergone the atrocities of those times.

Though most contemporary readers don t know it, a full-fledged persecution of the Church, with thousands of martyrdoms, took place in modern times, just south of our own border including the famous Jesuit priest, Fr. Miguel Pro, was martyred before a firing squad during this persecution.

Between the conquest of Mexico by Cortes in 1521, and the Mexican Independence from Spain in 1821, Spain created in Mexico a great Catholic civilization to rival that of any nation in Europe. But when the Great Mexican Revolution began in 1810, this flourishing country began to wither and die. That Revolution was not to end until 1928, with the end of the brutal rule of President Plutarco Elias Calles, though in many ways it continues still. The heroic resistance of Mexican Catholics during this persecution is a great inspiration to Catholics today.

Mexican Martyrdom proves that hatred for the Catholic Church exists even in our times and can still flare into open and bloody persecution in this so-called enlightened age.

Genres: History, Catholic, Church History, Religion

316 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

Reviews

[Mariangel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written as the persecution was happening in Mexico in the late 1920’s and 30’s.
For this reason, it is not a complete account but a collection of personal communications from many Mexicans about all they suffered, from priests jailed, killed or exiled, to normal people losing job and property because they refused to give up their faith, and the creative ways in which they managed to continue their sacramental life in hiding and disguise. Very engrossing and well written.

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 4 out of 5]

ENGLISH: A very good description of the Mexican persecution against the Catholic Church and Catholics in general during those terrible ten years (1926-1936).

There is very little in this book about the Cristero war, and nothing at all about the second Cristero war. The book ends in January 1936, when it was first published, and so it cannot mention that Cárdenas slacked off the persecution against the Catholic Church since the spring of 1936. Ten years later, a Catholic president put an end to active persecution by abolishing the infamous article 3 in the Mexican constitution.

The book is rather more anecdotal than historical, and a bit disjointed, with multiple jumps back and forth. By the way, the article in the Spanish Wikipedia about the Second Cristero War is somewhat biased.

ESPAÑOL: Muy buena descripción de la persecución mexicana contra la Iglesia Católica y los católicos en general durante esos terribles diez años (1926-1936).

Hay muy poco en este libro sobre la guerra cristera, y nada en absoluto sobre la segunda guerra cristera. El libro termina en enero de 1936, fecha de su primera publicación, por lo que no puede mencionar que Cárdenas relajó la persecución contra la Iglesia Católica a partir de la primavera de 1936. Diez años después, un presidente católico puso fin a la persecución activa al abolir la infame artículo 3 de la constitución mexicana.

El libro es más bien anecdótico que histórico, y un poco deslavazado, con múltiples saltos hacia atrás y hacia adelante. Por cierto, el artículo de la Wikipedia española sobre la Segunda Guerra Cristera es algo tendencioso.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will admit I was expecting something very different from this volume. I will be honest I had not looked closely at the book details. But the title and cover immediately captured my attention. I have read a number of volumes around the topics of the Cristero’s and Cristero War. Only after I got reading did I realise that this volume was written in part as a first-hand account and in part as direct primary research at the time. The description of the volume states:

“Mexican Martyrdom is a series of true stories of the terrible anti-Catholic persecutions which took place in Mexico in the 1920s. Told by the Jesuit priest, Fr. Wilfrid Parson, these stories are based upon cases he had seen himself or that had been described to him personally by the people who had undergone the atrocities of those times.Though most contemporary readers don t know it, a full-fledged persecution of the Church, with thousands of martyrdoms, took place in modern times, just south of our own border including the famous Jesuit priest, Fr. Miguel Pro, was martyred before a firing squad during this persecution. Between the conquest of Mexico by Cortes in 1521, and the Mexican Independence from Spain in 1821, Spain created in Mexico a great Catholic civilization to rival that of any nation in Europe. But when the Great Mexican Revolution began in 1810, this flourishing country began to wither and die. That Revolution was not to end until 1928, with the end of the brutal rule of President Plutarco Elias Calles, though in many ways it continues still. The heroic resistance of Mexican Catholics during this persecution is a great inspiration to Catholics today.Mexican Martyrdom proves that hatred for the Catholic Church exists even in our times and can still flare into open and bloody persecution in this so-called enlightened age.”

Both the beginning and the ending of this volume mention Blood-Drenched Altars—A Catholic Commentary on the History of Mexico, by Most Reverend Francis Clement Kelley. I have added that to my list of future books to read on these subjects.

The chapters in this volume are:

Publisher's Note
Foreword
Contents
Dilemma
Challenge
Defiance
Father Pro
Hidden Shepherds
Veiled Heroines
Three Months
Solution?
Meditation At Tepozotlán
Political Interlude
Picking Up The Threads
Splendor Before The Storm
"I Will Strike The Shepherd . . . "
Catacombs
Deadlock
A Rivalry
"There Is No God"
Kaleidoscope
"De Profundis"
Doom And Verdict
Decency Says Farewell
Epilogue

The end of the Publishers Note states:

“Almost all of today's reference books and most history books about Mexico paint the Spanish colonial period, 1521 to 1821, as an age of ignorance, repression, poverty, slavery and general deterioration of culture, but the era of the Revolution, 1810 to the present, as one of progress, enlightenment, freedom and prosperity. Blood-Drenched Altars proves just the opposite to be true, and Mexican Martyrdom is a strong exclamation mark in support of that thesis. Let the reader peruse these two books and decide for himself on which side lies the truth.”

And the forward begins with:

“This book is an attempt to illustrate by a recital of facts the nature of a struggle that has gone on in a neighboring country for the past ten years. It is not a controversial work, still less is it a work of scholarship on the Mexican situation. It is not an historical account of all Mexican events. It is designed to give the reader as vivid a picture as possible of how the Mexican people have lived during that time, particularly if they took sides with the Church in the struggle. It is frankly written with sympathy for these Mexicans, though a sincere effort has been made to understand and to present the point of view of those who are opposed to them.”

This volume was the May read for the Goodreads Catholic Book Club, I had voted for it a few times and am glad to have finally read. I only highlighted a couple of passages while read it. They were:

“This was the central headquarters of the Catholic labor movement in Mexico. Now the official Mexican labor movement is perhaps the most publicized feature of the Revolution. Its affiliation with the American Federation of Labor, its achievements in the Carranza movement dating from the Casa del Obrero Mundial and the brothers Magon, offshoots of the I. W. W. in the United States, the favor it enjoyed from the dictator Calles, all gave it a preponderating influence in public affairs. No politician dared to offend it, and it is generally true that it was at one time the very heart of the Mexican Revolution. It threw itself wholly into the war against religion. It was supreme, though its leader, Morones, was at the time in eclipse, following the murder of Obregon.”

“As he knelt there, the American could not help but think of all the people in the State who could not hear Mass, and who had not heard it for two or three years, and who might not for many years to come. Would their faith hold out? It had not in England, with whose conditions in penal days the present state of Mexico had such striking resemblances. And he resolved to tell the story of Mexico everywhere, so that the power of world public opinion might force the rulers of Mexico to abate their persecution.”

The book is not ordered in a linear fashion. And often the author states some was covered previously in chapters xx or will be covered in the future in chapters xx. I found that a little hard when reading it. A couple of times I had to either jump ahead and read, then reread when I got to that chapter, or jump back. It is something I struggled with a bit.

The book is an excellent expose of the times. A clear history of what was happening nationally and even regionally in regards to these persecutions and anti-Catholic laws. It was great to have read it and add it to my knowledge about this time and these events.


This book is part of a series of reviews: 2023 Catholic Reading Plan!

[George]

I never knew that the Catholic Church has been persecuted in mexico. I found the book very disturbing in a sense that for a country that declares itself a democracy just to our southern border it has elements of comunistic and socialist influences in its goverment by the way it has governed and held on to power since its revolution of 1910.
A very interesting book that invites further reading of the history of this country in modern times.
amaizing how in a country that is 97 to 98 % Catholic, its goverment is anti church and anti Catholic.
The period that this book covers which is 1926 to 1936 approx is eye opening because of all the persecution which took place. this book also leaves you with a question as to what the relationship is currently between the goverment and the church. It is also enlightling in the it explains to some extent why Mexico has not advanced in the modern area.
recommend you read more on this subject.

[Mcw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, there is too much to write about how truly good this book was. I love to read fluff but this one got me hooked in no time flat. How much passion I felt as I read this book is what really made me not want to put it down.

[Asunción · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yo sabía que había habido una gran persecución contra los católicos en Méjico, pero no sabía que había sido tan grande y que hubiera durado tantísimo tiempo.
Había visto una película muy buena llama Cristiada en español y For Greater Glory en Inglés, en la que trabajan Andy García, Eva Longoria y Peter O´Toole y me gustó mucho. Es tan impresionante como este magnífico libro.
En España, como en otros muchos otros países hemos sufrido también una gran persecución contra los católicos. De 1936 a 1939, durante la guerra civil española, hubo más de 10.000 mártires por la fe en Jesucristo, fueron martirizados por el solo hecho de ser católicos, eran obispos, sacerdotes, monjes y monjas, laicos muertos por los republicanos (socialistas y comunistas) simplemente por odio a la fe y murieron perdonando a sus asesinos. Entraban en las iglesias, destruían obras de arte, quemaban retablos, fusilaban a las imágenes, sacaban a los muertos de los cementerios de los conventos, violaban a las monjas, entraban en las casas buscando una simple estampa, biblia o libro de devoción, sacaban a las personas y las llevaban a fusilar.
De todos los mártires conocidos de la guerra civil española 2053 ya están en los altares, reconocidos como santos o beatos, el número va creciendo paulatinamente porque hay que estudiar cada caso detalladamente.
Lo más triste de todo es que quizá la guerra civil podía haber terminado mucho antes si los demás países que vinieron a España a luchar según decían por la libertad de los españoles apoyando la república se hubiesen enterado de la matanza que estaban realizando los llamados entonces republicanos en la sociedad española, como sí se enteró Winston Churchill. La guerra sucedió de 1936 a 1939 pero ya en 1931 había empezado la quema de iglesias y conventos. No habría habido guerra si no hubiera habido esas matanzas contra los católicos.

I knew that there had been a great persecution against Catholics in Mexico, but I did not know that it had been so great and that it had lasted such a long time.
I had seen a very good movie called Cristiada in Spanish and For Greater Glory in English, in which Andy García, Eva Longoria and Peter O'Toole act, and I really liked it. It is as impressive as this magnificent book.
In Spain, as in many other countries, we have also suffered great persecution against Catholics. From 1936 to 1939, during the Spanish civil war, there were more than 10,000 martyrs for the faith in Jesus Christ, they were martyred for the mere fact of being Catholic, they were bishops, priests, monks and nuns, lay people killed by republicans (socialists and communists) simply out of hatred for the faith and died forgiving their murderers. They entered churches, destroyed works of art, burned altarpieces, shot images, took the dead from convent cemeteries, raped nuns, entered houses looking for a simple picture, bible or devotional book, arrested people and took them to be shot.
Of all the known martyrs of the Spanish Civil War 2053 are already on the altars, recognized as saints or blessed, the number is growing gradually because each case must be studied in detail.
The saddest thing of all is that perhaps the civil war could have ended much earlier if the other countries that came to Spain to fight, as they said, for the freedom of the Spaniards, supporting the republic, had found out about the massacre being carried out by the so-called republicans at that time in Spanish society, as Winston Churchill knew very well. The war happened from 1936 to 1939 but already in 1931 the burning of churches and convents had begun. There would have been no war if there had not been those massacres against the Catholics.

[Jose Luis]

The book is essentially a work of journalism that captures a rather complicated period in Mexican history from the perspective of a visiting American Jesuit priest to Mexico. For Father Wilfrid, the ultimate question that frames this work is whether the Catholic faith will ever be uprooted from the soul of the Mexicans.

I discussed this question with my mom yesterday. Her answer? Yes. But the faith that does remain - and it is strong - has been saved by a woman: Our Lady of Guadalupe. My answer? It's hard to say with certainty because I haven't properly lived in Mexico full-time, but from my visits I would echo my mom's view. The people Wilfrid describes (if somewhat idyllically?) are not the same as the average Mexican I know today.

This book made me very grateful for the religious liberty I enjoy in the United States and in current-day Mexico; it is priceless. It made me very proud to be a Mexican Catholic. And it has emboldened me to continue striving to create a more Christian world.

My place in the world as a Christian is complicated. I am to live in the world but not be of the world, and this very attitude already frustrates non-Christians. As a Roman Catholic, I owe an unfailing fealty to the teaching authority of the Church. This frustrates almost everyone, lol.

Viva Cristo Rey!

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mexican Martyrdom: Firsthand Accounts of the Religious Persecution in Mexico is a little gem, though probably a somber black onyx rather than a brilliant agate. This book was originally printed in 1936, and it was re-printed by Tan in 2012. It is written mainly in th first-person, and moves fluidly from one account to the next (reflecting what had been told to the author during interviews with persons who had lived through the troubled times of Mexico under the rule of an atheistic, socialist government). The accounts provide a valuable resource for understanding the atrocities that were systematically carried out against the Catholic Church, and reading it should raise the blood-level of any decent human - especially if that person is a Catholic.

The only two complaints I have are: 1) the Preface and publisher's note do not clearly establish that this is a re-print of a book from 1936, which led to confusion for me early on (I was curious as to how the narrator could be speaking as if he knew these people, if he were writing in 2012). 2) There is a lack of document-citation. The latter point is understandable, because, as the Foreword says "many of the incidents related, as will be noticed, are personal experiences of the author, or were narrated to him at first hand by personages who have been involved in them." It is not, then, meant to be a scholarly work; it is, rather, a collection of personal testimony. The publisher refers the reader to the book Blood Stained Altars - A Catholic Commentary on the History of Mexico by Bishop Francis Kelley for a more scholarly look at the situation.

As a collection of personal testimonies (and a weapon against the myth that secular society is more humane than religious society), Mexican Martyrdom is top-notch, and deserves a full reading.

Quotables:

"It is the glory of the Church in Mexico that the Government was unable to produce a single priest who yielded to the temptation of an easy life and the favor of the State [by becoming a schizmatic]" (183).

"'At a few minutes before six the front door opened and a little old man, with all the appearance of the typical Mexican house servant, entered. With him was a small boy. They were the eighty-year-old priest and his altar boy. Finally, when the candles had been lighted, the doors and windows securely bolted, and the priest had changed his street clothing for the Vestments, Mass began'" (192).

(An American doctor writes) "The Mexican State is persecuting the Church. For the Foreign Secretary and the Ambassador to the United States to reiterate denials is as disingenuous as it is inept" (274-275, italics in original).

[Alexandra Beckett · Rating 4 out of 5]

"But my task is not to tell of battles and revolution, though it is a glorious chapter in Mexican history. My story is of what the priests and people suffered who did not fight, for it is a silent epic that has never been written." - Rev. Wilfred Parsons, Mexican Martyrdom, published in 1936.

My grandparents were born in America but my great-grandparents emigrated from Mexico shortly after the Cristero War. Unfortunately because there was a lot of government censorship around what was going on during and after the war, this story is an almost forgotten piece in both Catholic and Mexican history. It's unfortunate that its lesson has not been passed down through generations because it's a testament of the bravery and sacrifice that people once had in the stand for religious freedom. I think it's also a warning of what can happen when Marxism infiltrates government and commands power.

People were willing to risk everything: their property, their freedom and their lives to resist the government's infringement upon their right to worship God, and as a result many of them died proclaiming "Viva Cristo Rey! - Long Live Christ the King!"

Some of the religious oppression that was enforced:
- Priests were required to self-report and register with the government. They did not and so were instantly considered rebels and were thus arrested or executed;
- The Church was forced to close and surrender property, including the closure of schools;
- No religious publication was allowed to comment unfavorably about the government;
- Foreign missionaries were not allowed to come in to the country to evangelize;
- The clerical ministry was declared a public profession, and like doctors and lawyers, received their license to practice from the State. This was to make the Church a department of state, and to demand that it receive its mission to evangelize from the government. (Similar to the unfortunate Vatican - Chinese Communist Party deal.)

The President notoriously told the people: "You have only two ways open to you, either go to Congress, or take up arms."

The people at first rebelled through a boycott of anybody who was friendly to the government. The book notes how there was a lot of secret networking, largely in the rural areas, that were rallying Catholics to resist. They then tried to petition the government by submitting over 2M signatures, but it's alleged that it was cast aside unread.

"So little by little, all through the rest of the year, in places where churches were forcibly closed even to private devotions; where foreign priests and nuns were hunted out and expelled [...], where too zealous Catholics were arrested and thier property expropriated on various pretexts, the people began to rebel. [...] The young men began to take to the hills with whatever arms, mostly old and rusty, they could muster."

The battle cry of anyone fighting against this religious persecution was "Viva Cristo Rey!"

The clergy did not rebel by taking up arms - the laity did that - but they rebelled by carrying out their functions to perform Mass in secret and administer the sacraments which had become illegal and therefore dangerous.

Many people were brutally executed including a 15-year-old boy, Jose Sanchez Del Rio, who was tortured by cutting the bottom of his feet and forcing him to walk around the town and cemetery. He was offered the chance to have his life spared if he would shout "Death to Christ the King!" but because Jose refused apostasy and would only shout "Viva Cristo Rey!", he was summarily executed in front of his family.

So overall this book was an inspiring lesson of bravery, struggle and sacrifice as well as the general landscape for a Catholic Mexican during that time. If someone is interested in this book and has not seen the movie For Greater Glory, the movie does an excellent job of portraying much of what was written in this book. I highly recommend that movie.

I must add one of the most surprising things about this book was the Marxism that was pushed in schools.

"Sooner or later every Revolution gets around to the schools. The very first thing that the Communists did in Russia was to capture the schools, for they realized that they had no hope of converting the older people, especially in the country; but they could fashion the minds of youth so that they would never know anything different from what was taught them by the Communist party. The same thing was done by Mussolini in Italy, and by Hitler in Germany. It is a necessary part of every Revolution, if it is to be permanent."

"With obvious pain, the Bishops told their people the truth. It was a grave obligation of conscience to stay away from such education, and parents who keep their children in Socialistic schools are committing a grave mortal sin which cannot be absolved in Confession until the children are removed from these establishments. [...] Not since the Irish and the English during Penal days had any Catholic population been faced with the cruel dilemma of losing its faith, or contending itself to the position of uneducated and illiterate helots."

There's a whole chapter called "There is no God" about the Socialistic curriculum that was imposed on all schools, including private if they wanted to stay open. That chapter was perhaps the most fascinating of them all because I didn't realize that Mexico ever had a history with Marxism.... and it's covered in detail about the lengths to which it penetrated the schools. For example, "Adios - goodbye" was eventually forbidden because it derived from "A Dios" which was a friendly way of wishing someone to be with God upon departing from one another. Instead, they were ordered to be taught "Salud - health". There's a mural still standing today in Mexico's National Palace which has a portrait of Karl Marx among other images depicted in the revolutionary art.

[Jose Legaspi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authoritarianism attempts to control religion

Within the book, the old adage that “history repeats itself,” brings to mind the contemporaneous effort by US politics attempts to use all three branches of government to control the population for the benefit of a few, namely one. Presidente Calles manipulated the Mexican Constitution to control all three branches of government as it could not see one Institution, the Catholic Church which at the time was the organized faith of choice by 95% of the population. The attack on religion became the calling card. For years, the freedom of religion in Mexico suffered. This book was written in 1936 and it is prescient to political realities today, especially in the most powerful nation in the world.

[SUSAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

This account of the persecution of the Church in Mexico is filled with eyewitness, factual accounts. Fr. Wilfrid Parsons, the author, was in Mexico during the persecution and spoke with underground priests and bishops about their trials. He relates accounts he gathered from witnesses. He explains the precarious postition the Church was in trying to strike a balance between offence and defense, between negotiantions and resistance. The anti-Catholic hatred was astounding, as was the special effort to destroy the faith in the hearts of the children. This excellent book is a lesson for our times, times in which there is an insidious effort in government, culture, and schools to erradicate Catholic morals and dogma. I highly recommend this book.

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sobering look at the persecution of Catholics in Mexico between 1926-1935. I learned a lot about what these people were facing and found many lessons for us today.
It can be a little jarring when it refers to something you will read a few chapters ahead or to look back a few chapters to understand a thing fully. But over all I found it fairly easy to follow.

[David Allen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published 1936 from first-hand accounts. I had no idea it was this bad. The book is very revealing and holds one's interest on every page.

[Aridai · Rating 5 out of 5]

ωσω ιтѕ υиєχρℓαιиαвℓє αи∂ ιт ωιℓℓ ℓєανє уσυ вяєαтнℓєѕѕ... gяєαт вσσк ∂єfιиιтєℓу α мυѕт яєα∂...

[EC · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mexican President certainly hated the Catholic Church in the mid 1920s! Persecuting believers, writ large, is what happened and this book tells the story.

[Christopher Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine a a land filled with a devout Catholic proletariat. A people kind and loving to the stranger, for this land really was filled with kindness. This land had been visited by a Great Lady, a young and beautiful Queen. It was She that pacified the masses. Her love reigned supreme for nearly 300 years. The Virgin Queen of Guadalupe still remains Queen in the hearts of Her people.

Do not get me wrong, there were some very savage people as well. These savages were not just violent to the body, but the soul as well. When they struck, they were successful in many ways, and they won dominion over the lands. They did not have dominion over the hearts and minds of the people, though. Their efforts were of little use, destroying schools, stealing monasteries and convents, turning them to profane use. But they were not succeeding in their irreligious endeavors after nearly a hundred years of oppression.

This is when these books, “No God Next Door” and “Mexican Martyrdom” come into play. The savage government, the cult of Freemasonry, had decided to wage war on the people, to kill them if they could not kill their Religion.

With the rise of El Presidente Calles (pronounced “kaw-yays”) during a time of already enflamed persecution, came the terror of the Cristeros War. During these times of persecution the United States was funding the Calles regime and arming them for the purpose of murdering innocent Catholics. These books were written, full of contemporary stories, to incite American citizens to stand up against their governments funding of mass murder by a wicked Masonic regime.

Both books were written and produced very rapidly, as they were important to get out into reading circulation. Many names were left out, contacts and sources not named as that would have meant death at the hands of the Calles regime. The sole purpose of these books, also the cause championed by the Knights of Columbus, was to get our government to stop giving aid to Calles and his reign of terror.

These books do not have “closure” as they were written in the midst of the fray. The story was still unraveling. Following this ungodly terror, the Calles regime morphed into the modern Mexican PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party or Partido Revolucionario Institucional) party who ruled until PAN (National Action Party or Partido Acción Nacional in Spanish) gained the presidency with Vicente Fox, followed by Felipe Calderón both of PAN.

As PRI became more moderate, the old guard created the Morena party, which now has control of Mexico in the person of Andrés Manuel López Obredor, better known as “AMLO.” The old guard thought that the PRI and the Lodges had become to lenient on Catholicism, and there is now a new Masonic Lodge in Mexico City to help Morena “remedy” the situation.

[Daniel DeFeo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a couple years back. I would recommend this book to any Christian who feels that being Christian is a safe bet in the modern world. The costs of discipleship are real, even in the modern world. Martyrdom is a reality in the modern world. Along with that, it is a great book which exposes and anti-Catholic sentiment which existed within the United States at the time; the American ambassador to Mexico's violent inaction to bring to light the murder of Catholics is striking. Finally this book tells stories of the amazing faith of the clergy and laypersons who laid down their lives for their faith and tells a sober story of the Cristeros: a rebellious militant group who's impact is very over glorified by the broader church.