Viva Cristo Rey! Long live Christ the King!

Those were the last words of Bl. Migel Pro. Fr. Migel was a Jesuit priest of Mexico who secretly administered to the people during the persecution of the Catholic Church by the anticlerical government. Fr. Pro served Christ the King heroically, with great joy. He would make use of various disguises in order to get around and spread God’s reign which was being utterly suppressed.

Eventually, Fr. Migel was falsely accused of an attempted asssisination on the President-elect. He was arrested and ordered to be executed before a firing squad. Right before he was shot, Padre Pro grasped a rosary in one hand and a crucifix in the other, extended his arms in the form of a cross, and exclaimed, “¡Viva Cristo Rey!

Bl. Migel Pro was not ashamed of proclaiming the kingdom of God and Christ’s sovereignty over all wordly powers. Christ reigns forever! His rule will never end!

Fr. Pro let Christ reign over him—-even, and especially, in the midst of persecution. The kingship of the Lord radiated through this holy priest onto everyone he ministered to. Faithful Catholics of Mexico were strengthed by the courage of Bl. Migel Pro. May his witness strengthen all of us today.

There is so much hatred directed toward the Catholic Church and Her Members these days. Many Catholics have been attacked and martyred in Iraq, India, Egypt, and Sudan. Dry martyrdom abounds in the Western world; Catholics are persecuted in the media, the street, schools, and even in parishes. Church teaching is skewed, the Pope is misquoted, and internal scandals are not unheard of.

This opposition to the kingdom of God must not lead to despair, it must incite us to proclaim “¡Vive Cristo Rey!” all the more–in whatever we do. We fight under the royal standard of the King of Heaven and earth who empowers us with his love and grace. Through the intercession of Bl. Migel Pro, may we perservere til the end.

He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

– Revelation 3:20-21