![\"Credit:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Ciudad-Juarez-El-Paso-Shutterstock-170926_beunxl_cpap7d.jpg\")
Credit: Tudoran Andrei\/Shutterstock<\/p>\nWith a view toward defending the faith today, a pro-life and pro-family group aims to highlight the role the U.S.-Mexico border region played during the anticlerical persecution in Mexico.<\/p>\n
Credit: Tudoran Andrei\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
Catholics on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border are preparing for a special event that seeks to \u201crevive the witness\u201d of those who lived through the religious persecution<\/a>\u00a0of a century ago and rekindle \u201cour commitment as Christians,\u201d Lorena Tabares explained to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.<\/p>\n Tabares is a member of the Binational Pro-Family Pro-Life League<\/a>, the organization behind the conference \u201c\u00a1Viva Cristo Rey! 100 Years of Faith and Freedom,\u201d taking place on Saturday, Oct. 3, in both El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.<\/p>\n While the enforcement of draconian anticlerical laws in Mexico a century ago drew both nonviolent resistance and the armed Cristero uprising, defending the Catholic faith today in both the U.S. and Mexico often involves pro-life and pro-family advocacy.<\/p>\n In explaining why they decided to hold the event on both sides of the border, Tabares highlighted that \u201cwe are a cross-border faith community that witnessed the effects of this historic event.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy reflecting on it together, we can not only relive the testimony of those who came before us but also rekindle our commitment as Christians,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n In the morning, from 9 a.m. to noon, the event will take place at the Starlight Event Center<\/a> in El Paso, featuring speakers Father Rafael Becerra<\/a>, a priest of the Archdiocese of San Antonio who has extensively studied the history of the Cristero War; Rodrigo Iv\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s<\/a>, president of Mexico\u2019s National Front for the Family<\/a>; and Ivonne Kuri, a member of the Mexican Center for Sindonology (study of the Shroud of Turin).<\/p>\n Starting at 4 p.m., the conference will continue in Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez at Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) Parish. There, the panel will consist of Cort\u00e9s, Kuri, and historian Jos\u00e9 Mario S\u00e1nchez.<\/p>\n The \u2018Cristero legacy\u2019 on the other side of the border<\/p>\n Tabares highlighted that \u201cHispanic Catholics in the United States have received as a legacy from the Cristeros a commitment to fidelity, witness, and mission.\u201d<\/p>\n It involves, she said, \u201cfidelity to the faith that was defended; the witness of a life consistent with the example of Christ; and the mission to bring the Gospel to all nations, beginning with this land that has welcomed so many Hispanic Christians.\u201d<\/p>\n A safe haven<\/p>\n Tabares recalled that during the Cristero War (1926\u20131929), \u201cthe northern border between Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez, Chihuahua, and El Paso, Texas, served as a safe haven for Mexican Catholics\u201d who, in face of the anticlerical restrictions imposed by the government of President Plutarco El\u00edas Calles, crossed the border into El Paso \u201cto receive the sacraments.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA notable case is that of St. Pedro de Jes\u00fas Maldonado,<\/a> a Cristero-era martyr and native of Chihuahua, who was ordained a priest at St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral in El Paso due to the anticlerical persecution in Mexico,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cLikewise, during this period, certain religious communities from Mexico established themselves in El Paso after being expelled, such as the Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament. The sisters settled in the city and founded the Monastery of Christ the King.\u201d<\/p>\n These, she emphasized, are merely \u201ca few examples of the border\u2019s role during the Cristero War,\u201d topics that will be explored in greater depth during the Oct. 3 conference.<\/p>\n \u2018Those who do not know history are condemned to repeat it\u2019<\/p>\n Tabares explained that the organizers hope conference participants \u201creturn home with the earnest desire to educate themselves and delve deeper into the history and the example of courage and zeal for the faith and religious freedom of the Cristeros, because those who do not know history are condemned to repeat it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWith this event, we seek to help attendees not only learn about the events of this chapter in Church history but also gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the importance of religious freedom,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n In drawing \u201ca parallel between the sociopolitical context\u201d of the Cristero War years and present-day threats to religious freedom, she noted, \u201cwe wish to urge participants to be prepared to defend it not through an armed uprising, as the Cristiada was, but rather through formation and active civic participation grounded in the Church\u2019s social doctrine.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was first published<\/a> by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.<\/p>\n If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating<\/a> to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!<\/p>\n Click here<\/a> for more information on donating to CWR. Click here<\/a> to sign up for our newsletter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With a view toward defending the faith today, a pro-life and pro-family group aims to highlight the role…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446355,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-446354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}