The Vatican rarely acknowledges the various cults which spring up from time to time around the world, so when Cardinal Ravasi travelled to Mexico City to speak at several specially organised events in the Metropolis, it became clear that the cult of Santa Muerte is something quite out of the ordinary. Ravasi was quick to condemn the cult, calling it a ‘blasphemous, degeneration of religion’, but the millions of Mexican’s enamoured with the shrouded Saint indicate that the social unrest in Mexico is something that the Vatican is failing to address properly.
The following of the cult of Santa Muerte, or Saint Death, seems to have emanated from Mexico’s notorious prisons, and is fanning its way out into the homes and communities of those most affected by the violence in Mexico, where it is estimated that more than 60,000 have been killed since 2006. Figures of the Saint are scattered around streets in Mexico; she is depicted as a skeleton, and wears a dress with a scythe in one hand, and often a globe in the other. Those who travel to her various shrines bring with them offerings of water, tequila and cigarettes. Light a candle (red for love, white for protection, and black for power) and she’ll grant a favour. But, controversially, that favour must then be repaid, and so followers live in constant fear of her wrath should they not be able to.
There have been several reports to suggest that fear and devotion to Santa Muerte has led to the systematic ritual sacrifices of women and children in Mexico. In March 2012, forensic experts found traces of blood scattered around an altar in a town near to where two ten-year old boys and a 55-year old woman went missing, enabling authorities to make several arrests, and confirming previous fears of that ritual sacrifices were indeed taking place in Mexico. Followers of the cult, however, strongly deny that the worship of Saint Death entail ritual sacrifices, and consider the killings to be a ‘satanic aberration of devotion’.
But despite all this, the protection she is able to offer from the high levels of violence currently sweeping the country is a huge source of comfort for the millions of Mexicans devoted to her. Protection that neither the Catholic Church nor the Mexican government is able to offer.
Enriqueta Romero, founder of the Tepito Shrine
Raising of Santa Muerte images during a service in the deity’s honor on Alfareria Street Tepito Mexico City. Image credit: Thelmadatter
Mexico is living in a new state of fear. The traditional saints, the Virgin Mary, Jesus, the virgin of Guadalupe, are all considered to be unable to protect followers from the evils fuelling this fear: drug trafficking, gun crime, gang warfare, etc. And so little by little the country has turned to this cult; it now boasts followers in the region between 5 to 10 million. For this heavily religious community, however, the following of Saint Death is not ‘the first step into Satanism’, as one Mexican priest claims, but a necessary accompaniment to Catholicism in a forever deteriorating society.
Jose Roberto Jaimes
Regardless of the controversy that surrounds the cult of Saint Death, it is undeniable that the growth of her following corresponds perfectly with the growth of social unease in the country. Mexico has become notorious not just for the sheer volume of homicides throughout the country, but for the incredible brutality with which these homicides are carried out. When a community lives in such close contact with death, and when death becomes an everyday occurrence, the belief that the Saint of Death is the most apt to help is entirely understandable. The Mexican government, alongside religious authorities, instead of shaming these followers into secrecy needs to tackle the socio-political reasons behind the growth of the cult before it can hope to restore the official, Catholic faith amongst its citizens.
