If you missed the Rosary for Peace in the Middle East, you can still watch it and join us in prayer here.
Where are the remains of the Child Martyrs of Tlaxcala? Vice postulator reveals possible burial sites
Father Rubén Rodríguez Balderas, who took part in the canonization process for Cristóbal, Antonio and Juan, told Press Crux that historical research had identified places where their remains might be found. However, the examinations needed to establish their authenticity have not yet been carried out.
INTERVIEW 4 OF 5 | THE CHURCH IN MEXICO
Ana Paula Morales (Poli)
11/6/20264 min read
PHOTO CAPTION: Father Rubén Rodríguez Balderas, vice postulator of the canonization cause of the Child Martyrs of Tlaxcala, in an illustrative composition alongside an artistic depiction of Cristóbal, Antonio and Juan, the three Indigenous youths canonized by Pope Francis in 2017. Image: artistic composition for Press Crux.
MEXICO CITY — Although Cristóbal, Antonio and Juan were canonized by Pope Francis on October 15, 2017, a historical question remains unanswered nearly five centuries after their martyrdom: Where are their remains?
Father Rubén Rodríguez Balderas, an Opus Dei priest with a doctorate in Church history from the University of Navarra and vice postulator of the canonization cause of the three Child Martyrs of Tlaxcala, revealed in an exclusive interview with Press Crux that research conducted during the process had identified possible burial sites, although it has not yet been confirmed that their relics are there.
“Nobody knows,” the priest replied when asked where St. Cristóbal’s remains lie.
He explained, however, that the research team had located a site where he believes they might be buried.
“During the very extensive research we carried out for the canonization, a place was located where Cristóbal’s remains may very well be,” he said.
The historian clarified that the investigation has not been pursued further and that any new work would require the appropriate ecclesiastical authorization.
Cristóbal: Killed by his own father
St. Cristóbal was born in Atlihuetzía, Tlaxcala, and died a martyr in 1527, at about 12 or 13 years old.
According to the historical accounts gathered during the canonization process, he was among the first Indigenous children educated by the Franciscans who arrived in New Spain in 1524.
After embracing Christianity, he began urging his father, the local chief Acxotécatl, to abandon practices he considered incompatible with his new faith.
The boy’s persistence provoked a violent response from his father, who beat him and threw him into a fire. Cristóbal died as a result of the attacks.
During the interview, Father Rodríguez recalled that, according to historical accounts, the boy was helped by his mother after being thrown into the fire.
The next day, however, his father attacked him again, killing him.
Accounts of his martyrdom were preserved by the early Franciscan chroniclers and studied during the canonization cause.
Despite that research, the precise location of his remains is still unknown.
Antonio and Juan: A possible burial site in Puebla
Similar questions surround the other two martyrs.
Antonio and Juan died in 1529 after accompanying Dominican missionaries on an evangelizing expedition. Both had received Christian instruction from the Franciscans and served as interpreters and assistants to the missionaries.
Father Rodríguez explained that, according to historical traditions, their bodies were initially thrown into a ravine and later apparently recovered.
“There is a sense that they were taken to the Church of San Francisco in Puebla,” he said.
The historian recalled that the research team visited a place where the remains might be located.
“They took us to a place where Antonio’s and Juan’s remains probably are,” he recounted.
He stressed, however, that the investigation stalled because authorization to carry out further examinations had not been granted.
For now, these are historical hypotheses, not relics officially identified and authenticated by the Church.
What does it take to identify a saint’s relics?
Identifying and authenticating relics in the Catholic Church requires specific procedures to establish their provenance and ensure their preservation.
In December 2017, the then-Congregation for the Causes of Saints published the instruction Relics in the Church: Authenticity and Preservation, which sets out provisions for canonical recognition, the removal and transfer of relics, and other procedures.
The official Holy See document emphasizes the need for appropriate authorization and for guarantees of the authenticity of remains intended for veneration by the faithful.
Identifying a possible burial site, therefore, is not the same as confirming the discovery of relics.
In the case of the Child Martyrs of Tlaxcala, Father Rodríguez believes the research already conducted offers starting points for further work, provided ecclesiastical authorities authorize the necessary steps.
The first martyrs of the Americas
Cristóbal, Antonio and Juan hold a distinctive place in Church history: They are recognized as the protomartyrs of the Americas.
They were beatified by St. John Paul II on May 6, 1990, at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and canonized 27 years later by Pope Francis during a celebration in St. Peter’s Square in Rome.
Their witness took on universal significance because they were three Indigenous adolescents who embraced Christianity during the earliest years of evangelization in what is now Mexico.
Father Rodríguez stressed that all three were laypeople and that their canonization highlighted the importance of recognizing holiness beyond priestly or religious vocations.
“One hundred percent Indigenous. Laypeople — they were not seminarians,” he recalled.
The children were recognized as saints nearly five centuries after their deaths, but the search for their remains is still unfinished.
Their eventual discovery could provide new evidence to deepen understanding of the events that shaped the earliest years of evangelization in Mexico.
For Father Rubén Rodríguez Balderas, meanwhile, the witness of Cristóbal, Antonio and Juan remains relevant beyond historical research.
“I should have the courage of Cristóbal, Antonio and Juan, the faith of Cristóbal, Antonio and Juan, the love for Mexico of Cristóbal, Antonio and Juan,” he said during the interview.
This article is the fourth installment in a five-part series of exclusive Press Crux interviews with Father Rubén Rodríguez Balderas on canonization causes, Church history in Mexico and the witness of the Child Martyrs of Tlaxcala.
