In a world filled with constant religious intolerance and strife, it is easy to overlook a little known twentieth-century religious war that was fought on the shores of North America. Taking place in Mexico in the 1920s, La Cristiada—the Cristero War—was the result of repressive anti-religious laws directed at the Catholic Church.

After the Mexican Revolution of 1916, the newly drafted Mexican Constitution greatly restricted the function of the Church. It halted Church control of schools, banned monastic orders, and eliminated religious processions and outdoor masses. By 1926, the government had pushed these laws to the limit and created a rebellion. While the KKK pressed the Mexican Government to crush the rebels, the Knights of Columbus sought to end the struggle by peaceful means. In 1929, the American ambassador to Mexico finally helped arrange a nonviolent end to a conflict that had taken the lives of over 90,000 people.

In La Cristiada, historian Dr. Jean Meyer weaves informative text with hundreds of photographs and illustrations to provide a unique perspective of this terrible period in Mexico’s history.

Dr. Jean Meyer, a Mexican historian, obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France. He has taught at the Sorbonne, the University of Perpignan, the University of Paris, the Colegio de México, and the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas. Dr. Meyer has done extensive research on the Cristero War and has written books on the subject for Cambridge University and the Universidad de Guadalajara. He also founded the Institute of Mexican Studies at Perpignan University.

Acknowledgments     

Preface     

1. The Conflict Between Church and State     

2. The Unexpected War   

3. The Life of the Cristeros   

4. Soldiers of Christ the King   

5. The Cristero Government   

6. The War Changes   

7. American Confreres   

8. The Closing of the War   

9. The Second (Cristiada)   

    Epilogue   

Credits   

Index   

" . . . a well-written text of a relatively unknown period of Mexican history. It should appeal to those interested in Mexico's history, religious studies, or stories of religious persecution (and triumph), as well as to readers interested in historical photography."