Mexico’s Child Martyr Inspires Bravery and Faith, by Avery Lane

The little church is tucked away in the back streets of a Mexican resort town. Its utilitarian architecture lacks the colonial charm of the city’s cathedral where tour buses stop for photo ops. In this neighborhood, far removed from high-rise condos and hotels, the parishioners are primarily locals. North of the border visitors seldom wander in.

Once inside its doors, one could be in any small parish church anywhere in Mexico. Its walls are adorned with familiar images of Catholicism. There is Joseph holding the infant Christ, St. Charbel adorned with ribbons, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and, of course, Our Lady of Guadalupe. Near the door hangs a picture of Pope Francis. On the left wall, halfway back from the altar, is, as one often sees in a Mexican church, a painting of a teenage boy. ….

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