Viva Cristo Rey! Long live Christ the King. So shouted the young Jesuit priest as a firing squad executed him.
This weekend’s Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe (that’s the real name; there’s a good reason we shorten it customarily to Christ the King) falls close by the November 23 memorial of Blessed Miguel Augustin Pro. His dying words ring in our ears with urgency that we find hard to match, but serves us well.
Just one hundred years ago, the Catholic Church and the practice of the Faith was essentially illegal in Mexico. That’s right, Mexico – where we might rightly assume most folks are Catholic. And that’s right, one hundred years ago; right at the end of World War I.
The leftist, single-party government of Mexico was anti-clerical and anti-Catholic. Father Pro was obliged to pursue his religious and priestly formation in Europe because of the hostility of the regime. By the time he returned to Mexico as a newly ordained priest, the hostility had become outright violent repression. Churches were closed; celebration of the Sacraments was forbidden; priests were hunted down, those who clung to their faith rounded up. Groups who insisted on defending their clergy and churches were called “Cristeros,” and fought the tyranny in every way, including armed resistance in the provinces.
But in the capital, the regime was strong, and Father Pro had to go about the business of bringing Christ to His people in secret, often in disguise and by night. The stories from this time in his life read like a spy novel, as Father Pro was both inventive and audacious in going about his duties.
However, in the wake of a failed assassination attempt of a former president in which he had no part, Father Pro was arrested and sentenced to death without any juridical process. On the day of his execution, he prayed, forgave his executioners, refused a blindfold, extended his arms into the form of the crucified Christ, and shouted Viva Cristo Rey! as he died.
That was 1927, less than a century ago. The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) that controlled Mexico at that time, did so until just over a decade ago, when free elections finally brought in another government. Recently, that same PRI returned to control of the Mexican government.
That was 1927, less than a century ago. The United States government, particularly the State Department, did not object to the forced suppression of the Catholic Church in her southern neighbor. In fact, diplomats at the time were exclusively from aristocratic (and protestant) East Coast families, who even thought it salutary.
All my grandparents and the bishop who ordained me were alive in 1927; it is not so far removed from our time. Policies and conflicts in Mexico now are of daily interest and influence on what occurs in this country, as the slightest glance at the daily news will reveal. The evil governmental prejudices and policies that brought about this violent repression of the Faith, and the complacency or even complicity of our own leaders, are not far from us in any way.
Nor is Blessed Miguel Augustin Pro far from us in any way; nor is the faith that sustained him unfamiliar or unavailable to us. The One True Ruler of our lives, our hearts, and indeed the whole universe is nearer to us than any politician, party, platform, or policy. He is guardian of our lives and of our souls, grantor of all our rights, and our defender against all harm. Christ is our King. Viva Cristo Rey!
Monsignor Smith
