An informative speech I did my sophomore year in college describing the Cristero War.

1. The Cristero War
BIANCA BAILY
Cristeros – Fighters for Christ

2. Background
 In Mexico, around
1924 a war broke out
between Church and
State that killed over
90,000 Mexicans.
 The revisions to the
Mexican Constitution
in 1917 was the cause
of this, due to their
Venustiano Carranza
anti-clerical President 1917-1920
orientation. Plutarco Elias Calles
President 1924-1929

3. Calles Law
 These anti-clerical laws included:
 Article 3 called for secular education in the schools
 Article 5 outlawed monastic orders
 Article 24 forbade public worship outside the confines of
churches
 Article 27 placed restrictions on the right of religious
organizations to hold property.
 Article 130 deprived clergy members of basic rights which made
them like second-class citizens. Priests and nuns were denied the
right to wear clerical attire, to vote, to criticize government
officials or to comment on public affairs in religious periodicals.
 They also secularized the names of locations with two words of
religious significance, by contracting them into one. For example,
"Vera Cruz" ("True Cross") became "Veracruz."

4. Boycott
 In response to the unjust
laws, bishops mandated a
boycott against the
government.
 The boycott effected four
things: recreation,
commerce, transportation
and schools.
 Catholics stopped going
to movies and plays;
riding on buses or street
cars; and Catholic
teachers refused to work
in secular schools.
Boycott the Economy banners -LNDLR

5. The Rebellion
 On August 24, 1926, the first
battle broke out with 400
Catholics in a Guadalajara
church against federal troops,
setting off the rebellion.
 The next day 240 soldiers
broke into a Sahuayo church
killing the parish priest and his
vicar.
 Attacks on federal facilities and
army posts were made by the
rebels, shouting, “Long live
Christ the King! Long live the
Virgin of Guadalupe!”
Cristero leaders and their banner

6. Martyrs
 At age 14, Jose Luis Sanchez
del Rio was captured and
tortured for defending his
faith.
 Fr. Miguel Pro, “the
undercover priest,” was
caught and killed by firing
squad for administering the
sacraments to the faithful.
 Fr. Francisco Vera was
executed by firing squad for
saying a public Mass.

7. Ending the War
 In October 1927, Dwight Whitney Morrow became the
American Ambassador to Mexico. This charismatic man
was able to bring peace to Mexico by setting up agreements
between Portes Gil (appointed president in 1928), the
Mexican hierarchy, the Vatican and the U.S. State
Department.
 On June 21, 1929, a pact known as the “agreements” was
enacted which gave Catholics back their right to worship.
The Calles Law was still in the constitution, but the
“agreements” compromised on three things: the hated
registration law would apply only to priests who had been
named by hierarchical superiors; religious instruction was
permitted in churches (though forbidden in schools); and
all citizens, including members of the clergy, were allowed
the right of petition.

8. “Viva Cristo Rey! Viva La Virgen de Guadalupe!”

9. Bibliography
 Blessed Miguel Pro S. J.: Mexico’s Martyr for the Faith. 2004. 2007. 12 March 2008.
<http://miguelproshrine.com>
 Cristero War. 2008. 12 March 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristero_War>
 Haught, James A. Another Holy Horror: The Cristero War. 2007. 12 March 2008.
<http://www.newwave.net/~haught/Cristero.htm>
 José Luis Sánchez: A Congregation´s Inspiration. 2002. 12 March 2008.
<http://regnumchristi.org>
 Lelibre, Olivier. The Cristeros: 20th century Mexico's Catholic uprising. 2006. 12 March
2008. <http://www.storialibera.it>
 Tuck, Jim. The Cristero Rebellion. 2007. 12 March 2008. http://www.mexconnect.com
 Cristero Rebellion (1926-1929). March 12 2008.
<http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/cristero-1.htm>