Jose Sanchez del Rio

José Luis Sánchez del Río was born on March 28, 1913, in Sahuayo, Michoacán. He attended school first in his hometown, then in Guadalajara in Jalisco. When the Cristero War broke out in 1926, his brothers joined the rebel forces, but his mother would not allow him to take part. The rebel general, Prudencio Mendoza Alcazar, also refused his enlistment. The boy insisted that he wanted the chance to give his life for Jesus Christ and so come to Heaven easily. Mendoza relented and allowed José to become the flagbearer of the troop. The Cristeros nicknamed him Tarcisius, after the early Christian saint who was martyred for protecting the Eucharist from desecration. During heavy fighting on January 25, 1928, a soldier named Mendoza had his horse killed and José gave his horse to the man so that he could flee. Then he sought cover and fired at the enemy until he ran out of ammunition. The government troops captured the boy and imprisoned him.

Torture and death

It was then reported that José was captured by government forces, who ordered him to renounce his faith in Christ, under threat of death. He refused to accept apostasy. To break his resolve, he was made to watch the hanging of another Cristero that they had in custody, but instead José encouraged the man, saying that they would soon meet again in Heaven after death. In prison, José prayed the Rosary daily and wrote an emotional letter to his mother, saying that he was ready to fulfill the will of God to whom he…

The "Blessed José Sánchez del Río High School Seminary" was established in 2008 in Mankato, Minnesota by Father Carlos Miguel Buela of the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) (Spanish: Instituto del Verbo Encarnado), a Roman Catholic religious institute. The junior (middle) high school and high school is a preparatory seminary quartered on the 1854 parish grounds of the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Mankato, Minnesota. The school's teen and young adult students are known collectively as "The Minor Seminarians". The newly named "St. José Sánchez del Río Catholic School" is located in San Antonio, Texas. Under the auspice of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller renamed the school prior to the start of the 2019–2020 school year. The school's mascot are the "Defenders of the Faith" in line with the charism of San Joselito and uses the rosary, Virgen de Guadalupe, and a palm as symbols of his devotion and faith. In 2021 the school closed and soon the campus was dedicated as the new St. Jose Sanchez Del Rio Catholic Church parish. The gymnasium has been repurposed as the church where Mass is celebrated every day. The new parish is growing fast with religious education and many ministries available to the approximately 450 families registered as parishioners as of early 2023.