Saints Child Martyrs of Tlaxcala

Life story

Cristóbal, Antonio and Juan were three indigenous Tlaxcalan boys, living in a region that had only recently met Franciscan and Dominican missionaries after the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The sources about them are thin, and their birth years can only be estimated at about 1514 to 1517; all three were around twelve years old when they died.

Cristóbal, the son of a chief at Atlihuetzía, was educated and baptised by the Franciscans. According to the early accounts, he urged his family to abandon the old gods and was killed by his own father around 1527. Antonio, grandson of a lord at Tizatlán, and his servant Juan travelled with a Dominican friar on a mission. According to tradition, in 1529 at Cuauhtinchán the two were killed after resisting the worship of the old gods.

One of the oldest sources is the sixteenth-century Franciscan Motolinía, who recorded Cristóbal's story. On 6 May 1990 Pope John Paul II beatified all three in Mexico City, recognising that they died for the faith. Pope Francis declared them saints on 15 October 2017. Their feast day is 23 September. They are cited as patrons of Tlaxcala and of Mexican children.

Works and witness

• Cristóbal was educated and baptised by the Franciscans
• According to accounts, killed by his father around 1527
• Antonio and Juan were killed in 1529 at Cuauhtinchán
• Beatified on 6 May 1990
• Canonised on 15 October 2017

Patron of

Tlaxcala, Mexican children

Saints from the same country

Saint Juan Diego, Blessed Miguel Pro, Saint José Sánchez del Río, The 25 Martyrs of Mexico

References

• Toribio de Benavente (Motolinía), Historia de los indios de la Nueva España (16th century)
• Dicastery for the Causes of Saints: beatification and canonisation records (1990, 2017)
• Martyrologium Romanum (23 September)

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.