Jose Sanchez del Rio

Here is a real Humble Hero! Relying solely on the grace of God, Blessed Jose gave witness to Christ until the end. This Humble Hero received the martyr’s crown.

Jose Sanchez del Rio was a young Cristero soldier. Jose was horrified to witness personally the persecution of local priests and the desecration of churches in his home town of Sahuayo, Michoacan. When the Cristero War broke out in 1926, his older brothers took up arms and joined the movement, but his mother would not allow Jose to take part. The Cristero general, Prudencio Mendoza, also refused his enlistment. But in the end, Mendoza finally relented and allowed Jose to become the flag bearer of the troop. Jose was known to be one of the youngest members of the Cristero movement. He was nicknamed “Tarcisius” by the Cristeros after the early Christian boy martyr who gave his life to protect the Eucharist from desecration. During heavy fighting on January 25, 1928, Mendoza’s horse was shot out from under him. In an act of great heroism and sacrifice, Jose gave his own horse to the general so that the battle could go on. He then sought cover and fired at the enemy until he ran out of ammunition. Government troops captured the boy and imprisoned him in the sacristy of the local church. Forced to watch the execution of a fellow Cristero, Jose could not be made to break his resolve not to reveal any intelligence. The following is from an alleged eye-witness account of Jose’s gruesome martyrdom on February 10, 1928: “Consequently, they cut the bottom of his feet and obliged him to walk around the town toward the cemetery. They also at times cut him with a machete until he was bleeding from several wounds. He cried and moaned with pain, but he did not give in. At times they stopped him and said, ‘If you shout, ‘Death to Christ the King,’ we will spare your life.’ Jose would only shout, ‘I will never give in. Viva Cristo Rey!’ When they reached the place of execution, they stabbed him numerous times with bayonets. He only shouted louder, ‘Viva Cristo Rey!’” The government commander was so furious that he pulled out his pistol and shot Jose in the head. He was declared a martyr and was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on November 20, 2005.

–Rueben Quezada, For Greater Glory—The Official Companion to the Epic Film (West Covina, CA: Saint Joseph Communications, in association with Ignatius Press, 2012) 60-61.