Both Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI preceded Pope Francis in beatifying or canonizing saints who were martyred during the Mexican Cristero War (1926-1929). The holiness of these saints was proven in the circumstances of a religious persecution.
Cristero War
For some of the people in the pews at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the visit of 36 relics belonging to martyrs from Mexico’s Cristero War was about more than history.