Blessed Anacleto González Flores
Mexican Catholic lawyer and lay leader shot in 1927 during the religious persecution
- Rank
- Blessed
- Kind
- Martyr, Layperson
- Life
- 1888 – 1927
- Era
- 20th century
- Feast
- 1 April
- Countries
- Mexico
Life story
He was born on 13 July 1888 in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, the second of twelve children. He studied law at the Escuela Libre de Derecho in Guadalajara and became a lawyer in 1922. He led the Catholic Association of Mexican Youth (ACJM), founded its magazine La Palabra, and created the Popular Union (Unión Popular) to organise Catholics against the persecution of the Church.
In 1926, after four ACJM members were murdered, he joined the National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty. The Cristero rebels rose in January 1927. He did not take up arms, but supported them with speeches, pamphlets and material help.
He was arrested and falsely accused of the murder of an American named Edgar Wilkens, although the authorities knew the man had been killed by a robber. He died on 1 April 1927 in Guadalajara, shot by a firing squad after being tortured. On 20 November 2005 in Guadalajara, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI, beatified him as a martyr, together with other martyrs of the Cristero period.
Works and witness
- Became a lawyer in 1922 after studying in Guadalajara
- Led the Catholic Association of Mexican Youth and founded the magazine La Palabra
- Founded the Popular Union to organise lay Catholics
- Backed the Cristero cause with words and writing, not arms
- Shot on 1 April 1927; beatified in 2005
Saints from the same country
References
- Catholic News Agency, "Mexican cardinal announces beatification of heroic lay martyr" (2005)
- Agenzia Fides, "Mexican laity have their patron: blessed Anacleto González Flores" (2019)
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.