By Larry Peterson
Sometime during the early summer of 1973, Jesus
Gaytan and two friends began making their way north to the United States. They
were planning to ‘”sneak” across the border and find work as farmhands. They
did not care where, they just wanted to work.
At the border their plans quickly unraveled. They
were spotted by the Border Patrol and, frightened, ran back toward Mexico.
Jesus became separated from his friends and began wandering around the desert.
He had no idea where he was. After several days of walking and wandering and
without any food or water left, Jesus was sure he would die.
As he stared across the bleak landscape peering through
the undulating heat waves rising from the ground, he saw a pickup truck coming
his way. Not knowing who was approaching, he became instantly afraid and yet
also relieved. The truck pulled up and a young man with light skin and blue
eyes stepped out. He smiled and gave Jesus food and water. Then he directed him
to a nearby farm where they needed workers. He also gave Jesus a few dollars to
keep in his pocket. Jesus thanked him profusely and asked him where he could
return the money to him.
Speaking perfect Spanish the man said to him, “When
you finally get a job and money, look for me in Santa Ana de Guadalupe,
Jalisco. Ask for Toribio Romo.”
And so the story goes that years later Jesus Gaytan
did make that trip to Santa Ana de Gaudalupe. When he arrived he asked how he
could find Toribio Romo. He was directed to the small church nearby. Hanging on
the outside of the chapel was a large picture. Jesus stared wide-eyed looking
up at the picture. It was the man from the desert, Toribio Romo.
Jesus had arrived at Toribio’s shrine where his
remains were kept. He was shocked to learn that the man who had helped him in
the desert 20 years before had been beatified in 1992 by Pope John Paul II. He
was doubly shocked that his rescuer had been murdered in 1928 during the
Cristero War. Jesus Gaytan realized he
had been saved by a man sent from heaven.
Luciano Lopez tells of being on his way to Colorado
to find work when he got lost in the encapsulating heat of the Arizona desert.
Luciano tells of seeing a “shadowy” figure standing next to what appeared to be
an ocean. Luciano told how the person waved him to him and how he began
walking. He was led right to a rest-stop with food and water and he was saved. When
he told his wife back in Mexico she said, “It was St. Toribio, the
migrant-smuggling saint, leading you to safety. I have been praying to him for
your well-being.”
Toribio Romo was born on April 16, 1900 in Santa Ana
de Guadalupe, Jalisco, Mexico. He was, with permission from the bishop,
ordained a priest at the young age of 22. His age did not matter to the
authorities. The anti-religious Constitution of Mexico had been enacted in
1917. Toribio may have been only 22 but he was immediately placed under watch
by the government. Then along came the fateful year of 1927. That was the year
that the Catholic hating president of Mexico, Plutarco Ellas Cartes, ordered
his soldiers to strictly enforce the anti-religious Constitution of 1917.
Besides saying Mass “under the radar” and making
sick calls and hearing confessions, Father Toribio had also been teaching
catechism to both children and adults. Now he was told to confine himself to
his residence and to not say the Rosary in public or offer Mass. The young
priest took up refuge in an old factory near a town called Agua Caliente. Here
he defied the secular authority and celebrated Mass and tended to his ministry
the best he could.
On February 22, 1928, Father Toribio, began organizing his parish
registry. He finished doing that on February 24. Father Toribio knew the danger
he was in and he was afraid. He prayed daily for God’s grace and strength but
would not let his fears stop him from doing his work. It was 4: 00 am on
February 25 when the young priest climbed into his bed to get some sleep.
An hour later government troops stormed the place
and broke into the priest’s bedroom. One soldier shouted, “I have found the
priest. Kill him!”
Father Toribio said, “Here I am but you do not have
to kill me.”
The soldiers did not care. One soldier fired and the
wounded priest stood up and began to walk toward the soldiers. After a few
steps they opened fire and Father Toribio Romo fell dead. The story of the
young priest’s martyrdom spread quickly and his popularity soared. Many
Mexicans who have headed north tell inspiring stories about how their lives
were saved through the intervention of Father Toribio.
In 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized Father Toribio
and 24 other martyrs murdered for their faith during the Cristero War. Today,
Santo Toribio Romo, is honored as the Patron Saint of Mexican migrants and
“border crossers”. He is a saint who all Mexican and American Catholics should
pray to for help with the border crisis confronting us today.
©Larry Peterson 2016 All Rights Reserved
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