Martyrs or rebels?: Rome conference debates 100-year legacy of Cristero movement

Scholars and officials met at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome to discuss the 100th anniversary of the Cristero movement, a Catholic uprising against the Mexican government that began in 1926. The conference, titled “Viva Cristo Rey! Centenary of the Cristero Epic,” runs from Oct. 7 through Oct. 9.

Participants examined the legacy of the Cristero War, which lasted from 1926 to 1929 when armed Catholics resisted anticlerical laws. The Mexican Bishops’ Conference estimates that more than 200,000 people died defending their faith, including St. José Sánchez del Río and Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro. Attendees debated whether the movement should be viewed through the lens of martyrdom or the violence committed by Cristeros in retaliation against the state.

Italian politician Rocco Buttiglione defended the actions of the movement as courageous despite any mistakes made. Other attendees included Alberto Medardo Barranco Chavarría, the Mexican ambassador to the Holy See, and Rodrigo Guerra Lopez, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.