The feast recalls the martyrdom of twenty-two priests and three laymen in Mexico between 1915 and 1937. These witnesses include St Christopher Maggallanes (Cristobal Magellanes Jara) who as a priest founded a seminary in his hometown of Totatiche and ministered zealously in the face of persecution. He was heard to shout from his cell: “I am innocent and I die innocent. I forgive with all my heart those responsible for my death, and I ask God that the shedding of my blood serve the peace of our divided Mexico.” He died in 1927. – CTS New Daily Roman Missal 2012, p 2696.
