Exploring the fastest growing popular faith in the Americas – La Santa Muerte
The Mexican offensive against Santa Muerte (Saint Death) launched by former president, Felipe Calderon, has now gone global. In an interview last week with a Peruvian Catholic news site (Aciprensa), the President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, condemned the cult of the skeleton saint as "sinister and infernal." The Italian prelate, … Continue reading Vatican Official Denounces Santa Muerte as ‘Sinister and Infernal’
New York Times bestselling author Tony Hurley helped bring La Nina Blanca to The Morbid Anatomy Library in Brooklyn, New York after an introduction to Santa Muerte during a recent book tour. As the creator of the ghostgirl series and the new Blessed Trilogy, Hurley's work focuses on contemporary explorations of traditional ideas, making her a valued voice of … Continue reading Santa Muerte: My Search for the Bony Lady (Courtesy of Morbid Anatomy Library)
Although the Catholic church has denounced most of the folk traditions which sanctify death, there is a long standing tradition within Catholicism that includes prayers for a holy death. While most of these prayers keep the process of dying firmly outside of saintly personhood, this is not always the case. The much beloved Francis of Assisi gave … Continue reading Orthodox Prayers for a Holy Death
An excellent article from the Espacio Critico 1 blog detailing the Santa Muerte tradition from the perspective of someone who has seen the devotional tradition grow through commercialization, and increasingly trying social conditions in Mexico: "La adoración a la “Santa Muerte” como la conocemos actualmente comienza en la década de los cincuentas en la Ciudad … Continue reading La Santa Muerte en México (Espacio Crítico 1)
"In all of this, if we are really searching for the White Flower, we have to ask ourselves if we are truly seeing the face of Holy Death that Her devotees see..."
(This article originally appeared in January, 2012 on Dr. R. Andrew Chesnut's Huffington Post blog along with a photo essay. Click Here to see the original article and photos.) While tens of thousands of Mexicans have lost their lives in the ongoing drug war, millions more have become devoted to death. Saint Death (Santa Muerte) … Continue reading Santa Muerte: Mexico’s Devotion To the Saint of Death
"Santa Muerte...hears prayers from dark places...She was sent to rescue the lost, society's rejects...She understands us, because she is a cabrona like us. We are hard people and we live hard lives. But she accepts us all, when we do good and bad." - Hayde Solís Cárdenas, a 65 year old street merchant and devotee … Continue reading She comes from the West with flowers in Her hair…
"More and more African Americans and Anglo Americans are interested in Her stuff, and that's obviously fairly recent. She seems to be transcending her Mexican roots, and even the pan-Latin roots, and appealing to people who aren't Mexican or Latin American heritage."
Most Holy Death 