A shared frontier faith: Border cities El Paso and Ciudad Juárez remember Cristero War

With a view toward defending the faith today, a pro-life and pro-family group aims to highlight the role the U.S.-Mexico border region played during the anticlerical persecution in Mexico.

Catholics on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border are preparing for a special event that seeks to “revive the witness” of those who lived through the religious persecution of a century ago and rekindle “our commitment as Christians,” Lorena Tabares explained to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

Tabares is a member of the Binational Pro-Family Pro-Life League, the organization behind the conference “¡Viva Cristo Rey! 100 Years of Faith and Freedom,” taking place on Saturday, Oct. 3, in both El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

While the enforcement of draconian anticlerical laws in Mexico a century ago drew both nonviolent resistance and the armed Cristero uprising, defending the Catholic faith today in both the U.S. and Mexico often involves pro-life and pro-family advocacy.

In explaining why they decided to hold the event on both sides of the border, Tabares highlighted that “we are a cross-border faith community that witnessed the effects of this historic event.”

“By reflecting on it together, we can not only relive the testimony of those who came before us but also rekindle our commitment as Christians,” she stated.

In the morning, from 9 a.m. to noon, the event will take place at the Starlight Event Center in El Paso, featuring speakers Father Rafael Becerra, a priest of the Archdiocese of San Antonio who has extensively studied the history of the Cristero War; Rodrigo Iván Cortés, president of Mexico’s National Front for the Family; and Ivonne Kuri, a member of the Mexican Center for Sindonology (study of the Shroud of Turin).

Starting at 4 p.m., the conference will continue in Ciudad Juárez at Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) Parish. There, the panel will consist of Cortés, Kuri, and historian José Mario Sánchez.

The ‘Cristero legacy’ on the other side of the border

Tabares highlighted that “Hispanic Catholics in the United States have received as a legacy from the Cristeros a commitment to fidelity, witness, and mission.”

It involves, she said, “fidelity to the faith that was defended; the witness of a life consistent with the example of Christ; and the mission to bring the Gospel to all nations, beginning with this land that has welcomed so many Hispanic Christians.”

A safe haven

Tabares recalled that during the Cristero War (1926–1929), “the northern border between Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and El Paso, Texas, served as a safe haven for Mexican Catholics” who, in face of the anticlerical restrictions imposed by the government of President Plutarco Elías Calles, crossed the border into El Paso “to receive the sacraments.”

“A notable case is that of St. Pedro de Jesús Maldonado, a Cristero-era martyr and native of Chihuahua, who was ordained a priest at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in El Paso due to the anticlerical persecution in Mexico,” she said.

“Likewise, during this period, certain religious communities from Mexico established themselves in El Paso after being expelled, such as the Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament. The sisters settled in the city and founded the Monastery of Christ the King.”

These, she emphasized, are merely “a few examples of the border’s role during the Cristero War,” topics that will be explored in greater depth during the Oct. 3 conference.

‘Those who do not know history are condemned to repeat it’

Tabares explained that the organizers hope conference participants “return home with the earnest desire to educate themselves and delve deeper into the history and the example of courage and zeal for the faith and religious freedom of the Cristeros, because those who do not know history are condemned to repeat it.”

“With this event, we seek to help attendees not only learn about the events of this chapter in Church history but also gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the importance of religious freedom,” she said.

In drawing “a parallel between the sociopolitical context” of the Cristero War years and present-day threats to religious freedom, she noted, “we wish to urge participants to be prepared to defend it not through an armed uprising, as the Cristiada was, but rather through formation and active civic participation grounded in the Church’s social doctrine.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.