Who was Saint José Sánchez del Río?
José was born in 1913 in Sahuayo, a town in the hills of western Mexico, into a big, loving family. He loved riding horses, and he loved Our Lady of Guadalupe. His family prayed the Rosary together, and José went to Mass with his mother.
When José was thirteen, the leaders of Mexico made harsh laws against the Church. Churches were closed, priests had to hide, and families could not go to Mass. Many Catholics took up the fight for the freedom to worship God. They were called the Cristeros, and their cry was “¡Viva Cristo Rey!”, “Long live Christ the King!” José’s older brothers joined them, and José begged until his mother let him go too. The general said he was too young, but at last he let José stay and made him the flag bearer. The men nicknamed him Tarsicio, after a brave boy saint of long ago.
In the middle of a battle, the general lost his horse, and José jumped down and gave him his own. “You are needed more than I am,” he said. The general escaped, but José was captured. He wrote to his mother, asking her not to worry and to accept God’s will. The soldiers kept him prisoner in his own parish church and told him again and again that he could go free if he would only say he gave up Jesus. Each time, José said no.
On the night of February 10, 1928, José called out “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” and died for Jesus, his King, at peace and ready for heaven. Later, Mexico made peace with the Church and the churches opened again. The people of Sahuayo never forgot their brave José, and in 2016 Pope Francis declared him a saint.
When is Saint José Sánchez del Río’s feast day?
Saint José Sánchez del Río’s feast day is February 10. It’s the day he died, in 1928, in his hometown of Sahuayo. The Church in Mexico keeps it as an optional memorial, and many young people there take him as their model.
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