St. José Sanchez, 15 year old Martyr
Martyred for his refusal to deny Christ, St. José was a member of the Cristeros, a group of landowners, ranchers, and sharecroppers who revolted against the anti-Catholic government of Mexico in 1926. The Mexican government had implemented laws intended to marginalize and eliminate the Catholic Church from the lives of its people. The Cristero War lasted until 1929, though Cristeros were hunted and persecuted well into the 1950s.
Only 12 years old when the Cristero War broke out, José pleaded with his mother to be allowed to join his two older brothers in the Cristeros. She objected strongly to his pleas, but young José responded, “Mama, do not let me lose the opportunity to gain Heaven so easily and so soon.”
José was eventually captured by federal soldiers, who shackled him in irons and imprisoned him.
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