Blessed Jose
Sanchez del Rio - On the way to execution, soldiers struck him savagely with
sharp machetes. With every blow, the young boy cried out, "Viva Cristo
Rey!" When he got to the cemetery, he was bleeding heavily. His torturers
had also cut off the soles of his feet and forced him to walk on salt. The boy
screamed with pain but would not give in. As the road was nothing but rocks and
dirt, the stones where he had walked were soaked in his blood.
Mexican Martyr’s Miracle Helped Save Hometown Girl
In 1927, Catholic Mexico was immersed in a violent storm of
religious persecution. The President of Mexico at that time was a despot named
Plutarco Calles. His hatred for the
Church had no limits. He killed priests and burned churches.
In legitimate self defense, countless Catholics took up arms
to defend their Faith. Whenever they
charged into battle, the Cristeros, as they were called, shouted: "Viva
Cristo Rey!" "Long live Christ the King!"
 |
| Blessed Jose Luis Sanchez del Rio |
Young Jose Joins the Cristeros
Many Catholics shed their blood in this conflict. Many were martyred. And Blessed Jose Luis
Sanchez del Rio was among them.
From a young age he had a great love and enthusiasm for the Blessed Sacrament, and encouraged his friends to have more devotion to Our Lord and Our Lady of Guadalupe. Whenever Jose heard of the glorious battles of the Cristeros, which his two brothers were engaged in, his desire to join the holy army only intensified. Finally, Jose wrote a letter to one of the Cristero Generals, Prudencio Mendoza, pleading to be allowed to fight. The general acquiesced.
From a young age he had a great love and enthusiasm for the Blessed Sacrament, and encouraged his friends to have more devotion to Our Lord and Our Lady of Guadalupe. Whenever Jose heard of the glorious battles of the Cristeros, which his two brothers were engaged in, his desire to join the holy army only intensified. Finally, Jose wrote a letter to one of the Cristero Generals, Prudencio Mendoza, pleading to be allowed to fight. The general acquiesced.
 |
| Mexican soldiers "Cristeros" standing up for the Catholic Faith |
Capture and Imprisonment
In a certain battle, Jose was rushing to bring a fellow
soldier a new supply of ammo. Just then,
he caught sight of the General whose horse had been shot dead. On foot, without a horse, the General was
extremely vulnerable.
 |
| From movie For the Greater Glory about Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio |
Making a sacrifice that might cost him his life, Jose freely
gave the general his own horse. Moments
later, he was caught by the federalists and locked up in a church sacristy that
had been turned into a prison. One of
the guards had put a number of expensive fighting roosters inside the church
for safekeeping. This sacrilege troubled
young Jose. He said: "This is not a barnyard! This is a place for
God!" He soon caught all the prized
roosters and snapped their necks.
The enemies of Christ the King soon decided to kill him.
Holy Boldness in Defense of the Faith
On the way to execution, soldiers struck him savagely with
sharp machetes.
When he got to the cemetery, he was bleeding heavily. His torturers had also cut off the soles of his feet and forced him to walk on salt. The boy screamed with pain but would not give in. As the road was nothing but rocks and dirt, the stones where he had walked were soaked in his blood. The soldiers said: "If you shout, ‘Death to Christ the King’, we will spare your life."
He only answered:
With every blow, the
young boy cried out,
"Viva Cristo Rey!"
 |
| Representation of Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio depicted in a movie about him |
When he got to the cemetery, he was bleeding heavily. His torturers had also cut off the soles of his feet and forced him to walk on salt. The boy screamed with pain but would not give in. As the road was nothing but rocks and dirt, the stones where he had walked were soaked in his blood. The soldiers said: "If you shout, ‘Death to Christ the King’, we will spare your life."
He only answered:
"Long live Christ the King!
Long live Our Lady of
Guadalupe!"
The commander ordered the soldiers to bayonet Jose. They pierced his body. But with every stab he only shouted louder
and louder:
The commander was so enraged that he pulled out his pistol and on February 10, 1928 killed Blessed Jose on the spot. There was no trial.
"Viva Cristo Rey!"
The commander was so enraged that he pulled out his pistol and on February 10, 1928 killed Blessed Jose on the spot. There was no trial.
Blessed Jose is an outstanding example of faith and courage
for all Catholic young men — for you— who wish to be faithful to Christ.
He was declared a martyr and was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on November 20, 2005.
He was declared a martyr and was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on November 20, 2005.
Blessed Jose, pray for us!
Will YOU be able to give your life up for Christ and His Mother? The times are coming when you may have to do just that. Pray for strength and courage to be a martyr for Christ.
http://www.tfpstudentaction.org/politically-incorrect/hall-of-heroes/the-stunning-story-of-blessed-jose.html
http://www.tfpstudentaction.org/politically-incorrect/hall-of-heroes/the-stunning-story-of-blessed-jose.html
Miraculous Cure Intercession of Blessed José Luis Sánchez
del Río
Mexico City, Mexico, Jan 29, 2016 / 12:04 am (CNA/EWTN
News).- The miraculous cure of a baby with brain damage through the
intercession of Mexican martyr Blessed José Luis Sánchez del Río has been
approved by the Vatican, completing the final step for the teen’s path to
sainthood.
Pope Francis signed the decree Jan. 21, verifying the
inexplicable recovery of a baby who doctors said had “no hope of survival” due
to a myriad of health problems including brain damage caused by a stroke as a
miracle attributed to Jose Luis Sanchez del Rio, a teenager who was martyred
for his faith during the Cristero wars of the 1920s.
Ximena Guadalupe Magallón Gálvez was just a few weeks old in
September 2008 when her parents took her to Sahuayo in the Mexican state of
Michoacán where Bl. José was born. During the visit, Ximena began running a
fever that her regular doctor was unable to treat, her mother Paulina Gálvez
Ávila said in a post on the Facebook page dedicated to Bl. José.
Concerned that the fever was a sign of something more
serious like pneumonia, the doctor sent her to have X-rays at Santa María
Hospital in Sahuayo where doctors ruled out that disease, but were still unable
to treat the fever. Her parents took Ximena to get a second opinion from Dr.
Rosendo Sánchez in Aguascalientes State who had the child readmitted to the
hospital, saying that she might be suffering from atypical pneumonia.
“We spent two months living that nightmare and (the doctors)
didn’t know what was going on since she wasn’t responding to any treatments,”
Mrs. Gálvez said.
They sought another opinion from Dr. Adán Macías who
diagnosed her with pneumococcus, a bacterial infection that can cause several
different life-threatening illnesses including meningitis, severe pneumonia,
and bloodstream infections. Ximena was transferred back to to Aguascalientes
where Dr. Rosendo discovered that Ximena’s right lung was filled with fluid.
She would need to immediately undergo an operation which could be very risky on
such a young child.
“Dr. Rosendo spoke with us and informed us that she would
have to undergo a very delicate operation since she could bleed and die. We
gave our consent and we told him to do whatever it takes to save little Ximena and that we were
putting her in God’s hands,” Mrs. Gálvez said.
Concerned about their young child’s worsening health, the
couple decided to have her baptized before the operation rather than waiting
until she was older.
The operation was successful, but upon examining lung
tissue, doctors discovered that Ximena had been suffering from tuberculosis.
“When they told us it was in fact tuberculosis and they
brought her to us in the room, she looked strange, just staring off with an
empty look in her eyes. We talked to her but she didn’t react. I told the
doctor she looked bad, it wasn’t my baby because she was always smiling
before,” the mother said.
The baby underwent began intense treatment for tuberculosis,
but her health took a turn for the worse when doctors informed the parents that
baby Ximena had suffered from a stroke, causing 90 percent of her brain to be
dead.
Mrs. Gálvez asked to see her daughter. Before going into the
room where the child was, one of the doctors warned her “that my baby was
already in a vegetative state and that appropriate procedures should be
initiated.”
“Dr. Rosendo arrived and crying I begged him to save my
daughter. They put her into an induced coma and gave us 72 hours to see if she
would live, since 90 percent of her brain was dead,” she said.
During those three days, Ximena’s parents went to Mass
everyday “to ask God and Joselito to intercede for my baby, that they would
work a miracle” she said, using the affectionate nickname her family had for
Bl. José Luis Sánchez del Río.
Mrs. Gálvez said, “I asked them to let me be with her and
hug her, then they disconnected her.”
“At that moment I put my baby in God’s hands and the
intercession of Joselito and at that moment she opened her eyes and smiled.”
Ximena looked at the doctors “and she started laughing with
them.”
The doctors “couldn’t explain what had happened. Because
they had done everything medically possible and that’s when they said it’s a
miracle.”
The doctors took Ximena to do a CT scan and an
encephalogram. They were surprised to see that 80 percent of her brain had
recovered. When they examined her the next day, her brain had become completely
healthy again.
Even after such an inexplicable recovery, doctors told
Ximena’s parents that as a result of the temporary brain damage, she would
never be able to eat or walk properly and that would most likely be blind and
deaf and unable to speak due to the stroke.
However, when her mother gave her a bottle of milk at the
hospital, she drank eight ounces right away. The doctors were astonished.
Contrary to all of the doctors predictions, Ximena
completely recovered and is “perfectly well thanks to God and the intercession
of Joselito,” Mrs. Gálvez said.
“We give endless thanks to Almighty God for this miracle and
to Blessed Martyr José Sánchez del Río for his ample intercession.”
Mexican Martyr’s Miracle Helped Save Hometown Girl
Lupis was on the brink of death when her mother sought
Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio's intercession
The miracle attributed to a young Mexican martyr who will
now be canonized was the healing of a girl from the future saint’s hometown.
Ximena Guadalupe Magallan Gálvez, known by family and
friends as Lupis, fought tremendous odds to live, but because of the
intercession of Blessed José Luis Sánchez del Río, who was killed at age 14
during the Mexican Cristero war, she is now a healthy seven-year-old.
The Vatican announced last week that Lupis’ cure, attributed
to Blessed José, was accepted as a miracle, clearing the way for his canonization.
Pope Francis will make his first visit as pope to Mexico Feb. 12-17, though it
has not been announced whether he will canonize Blessed José while he is there.
The future saint grew up and died in Sahuayo, which is in
the state of Michoacán. Pope Francis will be visiting Morelia, that state’s
capital. The area has suffered from drug cartel-related violence in recent
years.
Lupis was born in Los Angeles, Calif., on Sept. 8, 2008, the
feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her mother, Paulina Gálvez,
told Aleteia’s Spanish edition that she’d had serious problems during her
pregnancy, including placental abruption, a condition that can lead to the
unborn child’s death.
She had heard stories of Blessed José, known locally and
affectionately as “Joselito,” and the Cristeros of Sahuayo since her childhood.
“As the pregnancy progressed and I came to live in America for a while, I
became more attached to him,” she said.
They returned to Sahuayo a month after Lupis was born, but
the girl contracted pneumonia and tuberculosis. At four months, Lupis had a
stroke, contracted meningitis and experienced epileptic seizures. She was
transferred to an intensive care unit in Aguascalientes and underwent therapy
and a series of tests.
Because she was continuing to endure constant spasms,
doctors induced a coma. In an interview with Notimex, the official Mexican news
agency, Gálvez said the doctors told her that 90 percent of Lupis’ brain was
dead. She asked if she could hold her child in her arms while they disconnected
life support.
“At that time I put my baby in the hands of God and the
intercession of Joselito,” she said.
Then Lupis “opened her eyes and smiled, looked at the
doctors and started to laugh,” said the mother.
A subsequent CT scan and EEG showed that Lupis’ brain was 80
percent recovered. The next day, after further tests, the brain appeared
normal.
“The doctors were shocked because they believed that if she
lived, she probably would not walk and would not speak due to the stroke,”
Gálvez explained.
Gálvez contacted the priest who had baptized her daughter
and told him what had happened after she prayed to Blessed José Sánchez del
Río. Together, they contacted Antonio Berumen, vice postulator of the cause of
canonization. The process of documenting and verifying the miracle culminated
in this month’s announcement at the Vatican, just short of seven years after
Lupis was brought back from the edge of death.
“The canonization of child Joselito means we are blessed in
a land of martyrs,” Gálvez said. “Having a saint in our Mexico and Michoacán is
the best thing that could have happened at this difficult time.”
YOUTUBE VIDEOS
Blessed José Luis Sánchez del Río
Blessed José Luis Sánchez del Río History – YouTube https://youtu.be/He27roks6y8
PT I - Heart of a Hero - The Story of Blessed Jose Sanchez
Del Rio https://youtu.be/KYtcsyoj_ro
PT II - Heart of a Hero - The Story of Blessed Jose Sanchez
Del Rio https://youtu.be/N9HOUiRqo3w
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