What was the Cristero War (Cristero Rebellion)?
It is also called the Cristero Rebellion. The Cristero War was fought between the church and state. The Cristero War (Cristero Rebellion or La Cristiada) took place between 1926 and 1928 in most central-western Mexico States against Mexican government’s anti-Catholic, anti-clerical, and secularist laws.
What was the Cristero War of 1917?
The Cristero War, also known as the Cristero Rebellion or La Cristiada [la kɾisˈtjaða], was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico in response to the imposition of secularist and anticlerical articles of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico, which were perceived by opponents as anti-Catholic measures aimed at imposing state atheism.
How did the Cristeros view the Mexican-American War?
The Cristeros generally saw the conflict as a religious war against the anticlericalism of the Mexican government.
What happened to the armed Cristeros?
Armed Cristeros congregating in the streets of Mexico. In October 1927, the US ambassador, Dwight Morrow, initiated a series of breakfast meetings with Calles at which they would discuss a range of issues from the religious uprising to oil and irrigation.
Where was the Cristero War fought?
western MexicoThe Cristero War, also known as the Cristero Rebellion or La Cristiada [la kɾisˈtjaða], was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 1 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementation of secularist and anticlerical articles of the 1917 Constitution.
When was the Cristero War in Mexico?
August 1, 1926 – June 21, 1929Cristero War / Period
How many people died during the Cristero War?
The Cristero War took about 90,000 lives: 56,882 on the government side, plus some 30,000 Cristeros, plus civilians. In 2000, the Vatican conferred sainthood on 23 Cristero figures: 20 priests and three laymen.
Why is the Cristero War important?
Cristero Rebellion, a peasant uprising from 1926 to 1929, pushed Mexico to the brink of political chaos. The Cristeros generally saw the conflict as a religious war against the anticlericalism of the Mexican government.
What was Mexico called before 1821?
The capture of Tenochtitlan marked the beginning of a 300-year colonial period, during which Mexico was known as "New Spain" ruled by a viceroy in the name of the Spanish monarch.
What does Cristero mean in English?
masculine noun/feminine noun (Mexico) Catholic militant.
What was the bloodiest battle in Mexican history?
Battle of CelayaBattle of Celaya, (April 1915), decisive military engagement in the wars between revolutionary factions during the Mexican Revoluion of 1910–20. One of the largest and bloodiest battles in Mexican history, it was fought at Celaya, Guanajuato state, between the forces of Álvaro Obregón and Pancho Villa.
Who was the last person burned at the stake by the Catholic Church?
Edward WightmanThe Reverend Edward WightmanBorn1566Died11 April 1612 (aged 45–46) Lichfield, Staffordshire, EnglandCause of deathExecution by burningNationalityEnglish3 more rows
What does Viva Cristo Rey mean in English?
Long Live Christ the King!Many Mexican Knights died while standing up for their faith during the civil war between the government and the underground rebels, known as Cristeros for their battle cry: "¡Viva Cristo Rey!" ("Long Live Christ the King!").
How long was the Cristero War?
1926 to 1929The Cristero Rebellion took place from 1926 to 1929. During these three short years, many churches were destroyed while both clergy and Cristeros lost their lives protecting their religious freedoms.
How many martyrs are in Cristero War?
25 martyrsThe 25 martyrs of the Cristero War, a majority of whom were Catholic priests, were put to death for defying the oppressive government and continuing to carry out their ministry.
Why did the pope go to Mexico?
Officially, Pope John Paul is coming to Puebla to open the third Latin American Bishops' Conference. The mere announcement of the trip has revived debate over the role of the Roman Catholic Church in Mexican society and has aroused latent anticlericalism in official circles.
What happened in the year 1821 in Mexico?
Then, in 1821, Agustín de Iturbide, a Spanish-supporting soldier who flipped to become a leader in the Mexican independence movement, led troops into Mexico City, decisively seizing control of the city and declaring the country's independence.
Why did the US invade Mexico in 1916?
Pancho Villa's forces then raided the town of Columbus, New Mexico, on March 9, 1916, resulting in the death of sixteen Americans and much larger casualties for Villa's forces. In response, the Wilson Administration decided to order a punitive raid into Mexico with the goal of capturing Pancho Villa.
What was going on in Mexico in 1916?
The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican revolutionary Francisco "Pancho" Villa from March 14 ...
What was the bloodiest battle in Mexican independence?
Battle of Celaya, (April 1915), decisive military engagement in the wars between revolutionary factions during the Mexican Revoluion of 1910–20. One of the largest and bloodiest battles in Mexican history, it was fought at Celaya, Guanajuato state, between the forces of Álvaro Obregón and Pancho Villa.
What was the Cristero War?
The Cristero War (Cristero Rebellion or La Cristiada) took place between 1926 and 1928 in most central-western Mexico States against Mexican government’s anti-Catholic, anti-clerical, and secularist laws . President Plutarco Elías Calles enforced the laws (Calles Laws) in 1917 following the constitutional provisions to eliminate powers of the Catholic community and its institutions together with other religious celebrations. The rebellion was popular in rural areas and had the support of the Catholic Church. La Cristiada was a major struggle between the church and state.
How many priests were killed during the La Cristiada Rebellion?
Many priests were publicly tortured and murdered during La Cristiada rebellion. Among the 4,500 priests before the revolt, only 334 received licenses to serve the 15 million followers. Most priests migrated while others were expelled or assassinated. Approximately 5% of Mexicans fled to the US.
What was the Catholic Church's role in the Mexican Revolution?
During the Mexican revolution that took place from 1910-1920, the Catholic Church and state made an informal agreement not to implement anticlerical articles of the 1857 constitution. After the change of the country’s leadership, northern revolutionaries targeted the Catholic Church with violent anticlericalism. The new regime strengthened anticlerical criminal laws in 1926 and enforced them because the state felt that the Church was too powerful. The widespread peasant revolts on land rights in Catholic majority regions at the time also led to a ban on religious celebrations, thus initiating conflicts that killed thousands fighting for religious freedoms. Both the Catholic and government groups engaged in unconventional terrorist like attacks throughout the war.
What did the rebels call themselves?
The rebels called themselves "Cristeros" and invoked the name “Cristo Rey”, meaning "Christ the King". A group of women known as the "Feminine Brigades of St Joan of Arc" smuggled food, ammunitions, and other assistance to the rebels. Many priests were publicly tortured and murdered during La Cristiada rebellion.
When did Pope Pius XI issue Quas Primas?
Worried, Pope Pius XI issued Quas Primas instituting the Feast of Christ the King in 1925 and Iniquis afflictisque (On the Persecution of the Church in Mexico), disapproving the fierce anti-clerical persecution in Mexico.
Who enforced the Calles Laws?
President Plutarco Elías Calles enforced the laws (Calles Laws) in 1917 following the constitutional provisions to eliminate powers of the Catholic community and its institutions together with other religious celebrations. The rebellion was popular in rural areas and had the support of the Catholic Church.
The 1917 Constitution
The 1917 Constitution of Mexico, resulting from the Mexican Revolution, as well as a similar one instituted by Benito Juárez in 1857 (1857 Constitution of Mexico), sought to secularize the country and remove the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, through restrictions on the clergy's political activities.
Background to rebellion
When the anti-clerical measures were enacted in 1917, the President of Mexico was Venustiano Carranza. Carranza was overthrown by the machinations of his one-time ally Álvaro Obregón in 1919, who succeeded to the presidency in late 1920.
Peaceful resistance
In response to these measures, Catholic organizations began to intensify their resistance. The most important of these groups was the National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty, founded in 1924. This was joined by the Mexican Association of Catholic Youth (founded 1913) and the Popular Union, a Catholic political party founded in 1925.
Escalation of violence
In Guadalajara, Jalisco, on August 3, 1926, some 400 armed Catholics shut themselves up in the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe. They were involved in a shootout with federal troops and surrendered only when they ran out of ammunition. According to U.S. consular sources, this battle resulted in 18 dead and 40 injured.
The Cristero War
The formal rebellion began on January 1, 1927 with a manifesto sent by Garza on New Year's Day, titled A la Nación (To the Nation). This declared that "the hour of battle has sounded" and "the hour of victory belongs to God ". With the declaration, the state of Jalisco, which had seemed to be quiet since the Guadalajara church uprising, exploded.
Diplomacy and the uprising
Before and after the successes had by the rebels and the support of Bishop Orozco, the Mexican bishops supported the Cristeros ( this is in dispute- the only comprehensive history of this movement, "The Cristero Rebellion" indicates that with a couple of exceptions the episcopacy was hostile to the movement ).
Aftermath of the war and the toll on the Church
The government did not abide by the terms of the truce - in violation of its terms, approximately 500 Cristero leaders and 5,000 other Cristeros were shot, frequently in their homes in front of their spouses and children.
When and where did the Cristero War take place?
First of all, we have to know that this opposition lasted for a period of three years, from 1926 to 1929 . For the year 1926 this conflict worsened because the authorities of the moment gave application to articles 3 and 130 of the reform of the constitution of the Republic of Mexico of the year 1917 in a forceful way through the Law of President Calles. These articles were intended to limit the religious freedom of the Mexican Catholic Church. The first armed movements of the Cristero struggle took place mainly in the countryside or rural areas of Mexico, among them are the states of Nayarit, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Querétaro and Jalisco . Cristero war results
Why is the Cristero War called the Cristero War?
It is a movement that bears this name because the Catholic Church, tired by the prohibitions and racial preferences imposed by the Government of the day, rebelled against it and demanded to carry out their religious practices freely and without any type of restrictions or impediments by means of a civil-military war that today we know as the Cristero War , also named the War of the Cristeros. Cristero war resultsstero war results
PERSECUTION BEGINS
Just five years after the first Knights of Columbus council was established in Mexico in 1905, the country was catapulted into a long period of armed conflict, now called the Mexican Revolution. But what started as a fight against the established autocratic order evolved into a multi-sided civil war, with each competing faction claiming legitimacy.
AN ORGANIZED RESPONSE
From the Order’s establishment in Mexico, Knights were active in starting schools and hospitals and invigorating the spiritual life of parishes. Within the country, the Knights “had a reputation for being both staunchly Catholic and politically and socially active,” notes historian Jean Meyer in his forthcoming book La Cristiada.
LEADING THE CHARGE
In 1926, anti-Catholic pressure increased under President Calles. The Calles Law called for uniform enforcement throughout the country of the constitution’s anti-clerical articles. It threatened severe sanctions for violators and for government officials who failed to enforce the law.
KNIGHTS IN EXILE
At the 1926 Supreme Convention in Philadelphia, Supreme Knight James A. Flaherty denounced the Mexican government’s persecution and condemned the U.S. government’s silence on the issue.
What was the Cristero Rebellion?
Cristero Rebellion, a peasant uprising from 1926 to 1929, pushed Mexico to the brink of political chaos. The Cristeros generally saw the conflict as a religious war against the anticlericalism of the Mexican government.
Why did the Cristeros leave the area?
The federal army mounted an offensive in Jalisco in December 1928, but the Cristeros simply left the area to escape the army's superiority in numbers and firepower.
What was the largest battle of the Gorostieta?
Gorostieta's largest offensive climaxed at the Battle of Tepatitlán on 19 April 1929, when José Reyes Vega (one of the few Catholic priests active in the fighting) commanded a 900-man force that defeated a federal contingent more than three times its size. By 1929 the fighting was stalemated.
How many rebels were there in 1927?
The Mexican army's early victories obscured the depth of popular support for the rebels. By July 1927 approximately 20,000 rebels operated in small, uncoordinated guerrilla bands that lost several skirmishes but grew in numbers.
Where did anticlericalism originate?
This anticlericalism originated in northern Mexico, where North American-style entrepreneurs, Protestant converts, and ambitious politicians built a movement to transform their traditionally Catholic nation into a center of secular economic expansion. The movement's leading proponent, Plutarco Elías Calles (president of Mexico, 1924–1928), placed rigid regulations on the church, including required registration of priests and the closing of church schools. The church responded with a strike—the cessation of religious services—which caused a panic among the faithful. In Jalisco and the surrounding states of central Mexico, this panic sparked a peasant rebellion.
When did the Catholic Church resume worship in Mexico?
ambassador Dwight Morrow and reached an agreement with representatives of the Catholic Church in Mexico and Rome. The government relaxed its clerical regulations, and on 21 June 1929 the Catholic clergy resumed public worship. By September of that year the Cristeros had disbanded.
Why was the Mexican government unlikely to win the war in 1929?
The Mexican government saw that a complete victory in the field was unlikely because of massive popular support for the rebels in their home districts. However, in spite of their 50,000 recruits, the Cristeros did not have the resources to overthrow the central government, which had the support of the United States.
Background
Church-State Conflict
- At the time, the Catholic Church was very powerful and had many followers. In many instances, they openly participated in politics through denouncing some political activities, supporting other activities and befriending factions of politicians. The Calles Laws were enacted to clip the wings of the church. The rules were strict as priests were not allowed to wear their religious garbs outs…
Truce
- The US Ambassador to Mexico, Dwight Whitney Morrow, engaged the church and the state diplomatically to end the war. The Knights of Columbus provided financial relief and logistical aid during the diplomatic process until the end. Worried, Pope Pius XI issued Quas Primas instituting the Feast of Christ the King in 1925 and Iniquis afflictisque (On the Persecution of the Church in …
The End of Hostility Between The Church and The State
- The Catholic Church and followers continued to suffer long after the truce. The Government introduced secular education in Catholic schools and monopolized most Catholic institutions despite the repeal of the Calles Laws. Calles’s successor, Lazaro Cardenas, would later condemn the laws and institute legal process against Calles and his associates, most of who ended in exil…
The 1917 Constitution
Background to Rebellion
Peaceful Resistance
Escalation of Violence
The Cristero War
- The formal rebellion began on January 1, 1927 with a manifesto sent by Garza on New Year's Day, titled A la Nación (To the Nation). This declared that "the hour of battle has sounded" and "the hour of victory belongs to God". With the declaration, the state of Jalisco, which had seemed to be quiet since the Guadalajara church uprising, exploded. Ba...
Diplomacy and The Uprising
Aftermath of The War and The Toll on The Church
Cristero War Saints
Battle Hymn of The Cristeros
Bibliography
When and Where Did The Cristero War Take place?
- First of all, we have to know that this opposition lasted for a period of three years, from 1926 to 1929 . For the year 1926 this conflict worsened because the authorities of the moment gave application to articles 3 and 130 of the reform of the constitution of the Republic of Mexico of the year 1917 in a forceful way through the Law of President C...
Who Participated in The Cristero War? Cristero War Results
Causes of The Cristero War Cristero War Results
Consequences
Winner/Results
Persecution Begins
- Just five years after the first Knights of Columbus council was established in Mexico in 1905, the country was catapulted into a long period of armed conflict, now called the Mexican Revolution. But what started as a fight against the established autocratic order evolved into a multi-sided civil war, with each competing faction claiming legitimacy....
An Organized Response
Leading The Charge
Knights in Exile