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It’s opening day in the US for a widely-anticipated film that recounts a war of which few have even heard. For Greater Glory has already opened to packed houses and long lines in Mexico for the past month, as many filmgoers connect with a part of their nation’s history that has rarely been discussed. The film stars Andy Garcia as Enrique Gorostieta, an agnostic who took up the cause of religious freedom when the socialist government of President Plutarco Calles (Ruben Blades) tries to suppress the Catholic Church, provoking a civil war (called the Cristiada or Cristero War) that lasted...

When I first heard "For Greater Glory" (originally titled "Cristiada," which I prefer) was being shot, I was stunned -- and skeptical. It never could be produced by Hollywood. In fact, it wouldn't be a theatrical release, maybe a short documentary, certainly with a small budget. On the former, I was correct; it was made in Mexico. On the latter, I was wrong; it's a full-fledged major motion picture with grade-A talent. And it's wonderful. The cast includes Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, Peter O'Toole (in a cameo role as a murdered priest, the octogenarian is splendid), Ruben Blades and...

The film shows a burning crucifix, gun-toting priests and the torture of a young boy. And the Roman Catholic hierarchy is loving it. The film, “For Greater Glory,” hits theaters on June 1 and tells a little known chapter of Mexican history — the Cristero War of 1926 to 1929, which pitted an army of devout Catholic rebels (led in the movie by Andy Garcia) against the government of Mexican President Plutarco Calles (played by Ruben Blades). For Catholics enraged by the Obama administration’s proposed contraception mandate, the film about the Mexican church’s fight in 1920s is a heartening and...

Starring Andy Garcia and Peter O'Toole, "For Greater Glory" is a compelling war film based on the true story of the Cristero War -- a conflict caused by the brutal government crackdown on the Mexican Catholic Church in the 1920s. Released at a time when religious freedom, especially for Catholics, is being attacked in the United States and elsewhere, the picture is also particularly timely. Beautifully shot across the plains of northern and central Mexico and accompanied by a stirring soundtrack by Hollywood composer James Horner, the movie takes the audience through the harrowing violence and suppression of the Church...

Source URL's used/referenced: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutarco_El%C3%ADas_Calles -- In particular, the heading Cristero War: Anticlerical [Anti-Catholic] legislation enactmenthttp://milujciesie.org.pl/nr/catholic_church/painted_by_a_heavenly.html -- Painted by a Heavenly Hand In the 1920s and 1930s, the infamous Calles Persecution occurred in Mexico. During this time, Freemasons tried to bomb the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The bomb did go off, but not even the glass was cracked, which was not bullet proof and very thin [supernatural protection, apparently]. A 5 foot brass cross on the altar was not as fortunate. The tremendous force of the blast caused the cross to be curved. Many Roman Catholic priests were martyred...

Thomas Craughwell   Other Articles by Thomas Craughwell   A Patron Saint for the Falsely Accused November 23, 2006 On the morning of July 31, 1926, for the first time in the 400-year history of Catholic Mexico, no priest mounted the steps of an altar to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. By order of the Mexican bishops, and with the approval of Pope Pius XI, the celebration of Mass, the administration of the sacraments, and the day-to-day cycle of devotional exercises were suspended in every cathedral, church, chapel and shrine throughout the country. It was not an...

Father Rafael González, postulator of the cause for sainthood of Bishop Rafael Guízar Valencia of Veracruz, Mexico, was interviewed for the February issue of Columbia. Additional questions and answers not included in the print edition are published here.How did you learn about Bishop Rafael Guízar Valencia?Father González: My family has had a devotion to him for many years, since my childhood. During the persecution, St. Rafael hid in my grandparents’ house. My grandmother would cook for him and all his priests. The last retreat he preached was in my grandparents’ house and there were 40 priests present. Every blessing in...

Origin of the Sacred Heart Badge Our Lord revealed to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque "His wish for her to order a picture of the image of that Sacred Heart for people specifically to venerate and have in their homes and also small pictures to carry with them." She wrote this to her Superior, Mother Saumaise, on March 2, 1686. Thus was born the devotion of wearing the little Badges. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque always kept a badge with her and inspired her novices to do the same. She made many badges and often said this practice was very pleasing to...

The 1920s brought a revolution to Mexico, along with the widespread persecution of Catholics. Missionaries were expelled from the country, Catholic seminaries and schools were closed, and the Church was forbidden to own property. Priests and laymen were told to denounce Jesus and their faith in public; if they refused, they faced not just punishment but torture and death. During this time of oppression and cruelty, the Knights of Columbus did not retreat in Mexico but grew dramatically, from 400 members in 1918 to 43 councils and 6,000 members just five years later. In the United States at the time,...

DENVER (CNS) -- A journey that began last year in Mexico and will end in Orlando, Fla., in August made Denver its latest stop May 5-7. A silver cross containing relics of six of the 25 Mexican martyrs canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000 has been traveling under the auspices of the Knights of Columbus. Each of the six -- Sts. Pedro de Jesus Maldonado, Luis Batis Sainz, Jose Maria Robles Hurtado, Mateo Correa Megallanes, Miguel del la Mora de la Mora and Rodrigo Aguilar Aleman -- was a priest and a member of the Knights of Columbus....

Worshipers on Saturday paid tribute to a reliquary containing the bone fragments of six martyred priests, all Knights of Columbus, who were canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000. "We are blessed to have those who were willing to die for our faith," said Dolores Bouis, who attending the showing after Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver. The Mexican priests, members of the world's largest lay Catholic organization, were killed for refusing to renounce their faith during the 1920s when a revolution in Mexico brought widespread persecution of Catholics. The priests were Pedro de Jesus...

The relics of six Knights of Columbus canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000 are beginning a tour of the United States on March 18 at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Dallas. The six priests – Pedro de Jesus Maldonado Lucero, Miguel de la Mora de la Mora, Jose Maria Robles Hurtado, Luis Batiz Sainz, Rodrigo Aguilar Alemán, and Mateo Correa Magallanes – were martyred for their faith by the Mexican government during the religious persecution in Mexico in the1920s. “This pilgrimage seeks to promote knowledge of and devotion to the Knights of Columbus priest...

The 1920s brought a revolution to Mexico, along with the widespread persecution of Catholics. Portrait of the Mexican Martyrs at the Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven. Missionaries were expelled from the country, Catholic seminaries and schools were closed, and the Church was forbidden to own property. Priests and laymen were told to denounce Jesus and their faith in public; if they refused, they faced not just punishment but torture and death.During this time of oppression and cruelty, the Knights of Columbus did not retreat in Mexico but grew dramatically, from 400 members in 1918 to 43 councils...

Guadalajara, Nov. 21 (CWNews.com) - Cardinal José Saraiva Martins presided at the beatification of 13 Mexican martyrs of the 20th century, in ceremonies held in a soccer stadium in Guadalajara on November 20. The martyrs-- 3 priests and 10 laymen-- were members of the Cristeros movement, which rose up in the late 1920s to defy the anti-religious strictures of the Mexican regime. They join a growing list of 20th-century Mexicans recognized by the Church, including the 25 martyrs beatified by Pope John Paul II (bio - news) during his trip to Mexico in 2000. In a message relayed to the...

St. José María Robles Hurtado by Pedro A. MorenoPriest, Martyr and Knight : A Special Heart With a Special Beat In this article: A Heroic Priest Christ, the King of Mexico Help from the Vatican The Ultimate Witness Almost 80 years ago, on a hill outside of the small town of Quila, Jalisco, Mexico, there was a deafening and deadly silence. A special heart, a priestly heart united with Christ’s own, was stilled. Its special beat, a loving palpitation for the Eucharist, was now silent. The silence became one with the predawn darkness in which a group of soldiers finished...

Brothers in Christ The vocation to holiness expressed in the life and martyrdom of two Mexican brothers inspires their family today, including a grand knight in Guadalajara April 3 has become an unofficial feast day for Cristóbal Huerta Wilde. On that day, the grand knight of Fray Antonio Alcalde Council 3552 in Guadalajara, Central-South Mexico, remembers in a special way the heroic life and martyrdom of his grandfather, Ezequiel Huerta Gutiérrez. Ezequiel and his brother, Salvador, were executed by a government firing squad April 3, 1927, due to their involvement with the Cristeros, a group of rebels, including hundreds of...