What relationship does the Virgin of Guadalupe have with the cry of “Long live Christ the King!”, which the Cristeros proclaimed before being shot by the soldiers of the government of Plutarco Elías Calles in Mexico at the beginning of the 20th century?
The Cristero War occurred between 1926 and 1929, after Elías Calles promulgated a law, known as the “Calles Law”, which restricted religious freedom to the point that priests could not wear talar clothing; In addition, the teaching of religion in schools and the existence of congregations were prohibited.
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Many Catholics were martyred in this period of religious persecution at the hands of the Mexican Government. Among them today Blessed Father Miguel Pro and the child San José Sánchez del Río.
The cry of “Long live Christ the King!” It is related to the Feast of Christ the King, instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. But the Cristeros frequently added the name of Santa María de Guadalupe to this exclamation.
“A cry from the soul”
For Father Eduardo Chávez, postulator of the cause of canonization of Saint Juan Diego, visionary of the Virgin of Guadalupe, this relationship is the product of “a great, wonderful intuition, an inspiration of the Holy Spirit.”
In dialogue with ACI Prensa, Father Chávez stressed that “the Virgin of Guadalupe and Christ the King is always a cry from the soul, from the heart, from faith, a unique cry that is doubly great.”
The Mexican priest, also director of the Higher Institute of Guadalupe Studies, pointed out that “when the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is seen from the eyes of the indigenous people, they see that she is wearing a blue-green mantle. That blue-green mantle only the emperors They could use it, because it was the blue of the sky and the green of life.
“When they see the Virgin of Guadalupe, who has this greenish blue, they understand that she is an empress, she is a queen. And when they see that she is pregnant, logically the one she has here is a king, he is the King.”
For this reason, he said, this “unique double devotion” reminds us that Saint Mary of Guadalupe “has Jesus Christ Our Lord as the center of her image.”
This article was published in 2022 and has been updated for republication.
David Ramos
Graduated in Communication Sciences from the Universidad Privada del Norte in Trujillo, Peru. With more than 12 years of experience in Catholic journalism working at ACI Prensa, I have been based in Mexico since 2018. I have covered Pope Francis’ trips to Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Panama.