Sunday 2 April 2017

# Saints

Blessed Anacleto González Flores

The 1st of April was the feast day of Blessed Anacleto Gonzalez Flores.

He lived between 1888 to 1927. He was the second of 12 children in a poor family of Jalisco, Mexico and was baptised the day after his birthday. A priest recommended he enter a seminary and Anacleto studied there before discerning that the priesthood was not his vocation. He became an attorney, married and had children and was an activist for the Catholic faith. He wrote prolifically and was a catechism teacher and attended mass daily. In addition to joining the Catholic Association of Young Mexicans (ACYM) he also started a Catholic lay organisation that was committed to resisting the persecution of the Church under Calles, the Mexican dictator. He participated in non violent resistance against Calles. However in 1926, four members of the ACJM were murdered. This convinced Anacleto to support the armed resistance movement though he did not take up arms but gave speeches encouraging Catholics to support Cristeros, the Catholic army that fought against Calles. In April 1 1927 during the Cristero war, Anacleto was captured, tortured and martyred by the firing squad.

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