By Eugenio Amézquita Velasco
Translation: Metro News Mx
-The Diocese of Celaya opens its first canonization cause with the Sierra Vera brothers, lay martyrs who died for their faith in God.
-Father Josef Sciberrás highlights that martyrdom is a bond of friendship with God and mutual service sealed with the gift of one's own life.
-The Sierra brothers refused to save themselves in order to remain faithful to Father Nieves, demonstrating a loyalty that transcends human fear.
-The martyrdom occurred in a context of persecution by the Federal Government of the time, where the protagonists decided not to retreat and embraced their destiny with hope.
-One of the brothers died of a heart attack due to the natural terror of death but was finished off with a coup de grâce by his executioners.
-The phrase "see you in heaven," spoken by the laymen, is a solemn act of faith in the resurrection of the dead and the future life.
-Blessed Elías del Socorro Nieves asked to die last to ensure the sacramental absolution of his faithful lay companions.
-Father Nieves showed the merciful face of the Church by forgiving and blessing those who were about to take his life.
-The cause of the Sierra brothers vindicates the vocation to holiness of the laity, who are the vast majority and the living force of the Church.
-To be a martyr means to be a witness, and this call is for all the baptized without distinction of hierarchies or religious ministries.
-The Sierra brothers represent the "ordinary people" from rural areas who sanctified their existence through faithful commitment.
-The postulator Sciberrás affirms that martyrdom is not a thing of the past, as thousands of Christians suffer persecution in today's world.
-The sacrifice of shedding blood for Christ produces love and fruits of conversion throughout the region of Guanajuato and beyond.
-Holiness is possible for anyone, even for someone from Cortazar or La Cañada who decides to follow Christ by carrying their cross.
-The saints are companions on the journey who invite us to ask ourselves why they could reach glory and we cannot.
-The Church is always attentive to her children at the culminating moment of death, offering comfort and spiritual aid.
-The testimony of the Sierra brothers has no borders or time and serves as a light for the families who carry their blood today.
-"White martyrdom" is that which is lived through illness and daily problems, embracing the cross from a perspective of true faith.
-A mother who prefers to give her life for her child rather than abort is a modern example of a witness of faith and a sacrifice of pure love.
-Father Nieves' forgiveness of his executioners is an act that can only be understood under the light of divine love that restores everything.
-The Diocese of Celaya seeks to revitalize its faith through this process that sets simple and committed men as models.
-The Bishop of Celaya gives his full support to this historic cause that celebrates the spiritual heritage of the martyrs of Cortazar.
-The laity have the mission to sanctify society from within, reaching places where the priest cannot always be.
-The start of this cause in 2026 is a great blessing that invites us to rediscover the value of baptism and mission.
-The final blessing from Father Sciberrás asks for those who are currently experiencing moments of sacrifice due to illness or life problems.
The history of faith in Guanajuato is written with strokes of eternity and the echo of a phrase that defies death: "See you in heaven." In an act of profound solemnity and historical justice, the Diocese of Celaya begins a path of hope by opening the cause for the beatification and canonization of the Sierra brothers, martyrs of Cortazar, who alongside Blessed Fray Elías del Socorro Nieves, sealed their Christian commitment with the shedding of their own blood. This process, led by the Maltese postulator, Father Josef Sciberrás, is not just ecclesiastical news; it is the vindication of the laity, the "infantry" of the Church—ordinary men who find the shortest path to holiness through service at the altar and closeness to their pastor.
The connection between these two laymen from Cortazar and their Augustinian pastor was not a coincidence of fate, but a bond formed through years of friendship, mutual service, and a shared life in the liturgy and daily assistance at the parish of Cañada de Caracheo.
In that context of the Cristero persecution, where the Federal Government showed an anti-clerical and anti-ecclesial attitude, the Sierra brothers had the human opportunity to retreat and return to their families. However, they chose by free will to embrace death and accompany Father Nieves, who had been their encourager in the faith, until the end.
The martyrdom of the Sierra brothers is marked by details of heartbreaking humanity and unshakable faith. One of them, a victim of the terror and fragility of our nature, died of a heart attack before the shots were fired, yet still received the coup de grâce. The other, firm in his hope, pronounced the words that resonate today as a dogma of life: "See you in heaven."
Faced with this, Father Nieves, in a supreme act of mercy and as a minister of reconciliation, asked the executioners to be the last to die so that he could grant absolution to his spiritual sons. In a gesture that can only be understood from a supernatural perspective, the pastor forgave his executioners, gave them his blessing, and even gave them his watch, transforming an execution into a fruitful sacrifice.
This process is historic for Celaya as its first cause for beatification and because it features lay protagonists. It reminds us that holiness is not a privilege reserved for those who wear a habit or a clerical collar, but a universal vocation.
The Sierra brothers—men from a rural background whose roots and blood are still present in the families of Cañada de Caracheo—are the mirror in which every Christian should look. Their martyrdom is not a relic of the past; in the heart of 2026, formal and informal persecution remains present, and the call to be witnesses of the faith—the original meaning of the word martyr—is a daily task. Whether through extreme sacrifice or the small daily martyrdoms of illness and family sorrows, the lives of these brothers invite us to lift our gaze and understand that, beyond visible reality, there is a God waiting for us with open arms.
Full Transcript of the Interview with Fray Josef Sciberrás OSA, Postulator of the Cause before the Holy See
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
Well, good afternoon, good evening, or good morning to the audience following us through the various social networks and media outlets, or those who will watch this interview later. We are also with the Diocese of Celaya, whom we thank: Father Samuel Damián, the parish priest Father Adolfo here in the parish of Cañada de Caracheo. I have the pleasure of presenting none other than the person who will lead the cause of the Sierra brothers, the martyrs of Cortazar. I am with Father Josef (Joseph) Sciberrás, who is of Maltese origin and sent directly by the Holy See and ecclesiastical authorities to lead this postulation. He is from the island of Malta and has served as a Postulator General worldwide for many causes of many Augustinian brothers. But in this case, I would like to ask you, Father: we cannot talk about the Sierra brothers without first talking about Father Nieves—whose baptismal name was Mateo Elías—and whom we all know as Fray Elías del Socorro Nieves, the Augustinian friar who was the parish priest here in Cañada de Caracheo where we are. How does this connection happen, Father? What can you share with us about these two laymen who connect with an Augustinian pastor?
Father Josef Sciberrás:
Thank you for this interview, this moment of sharing. Between the Sierra brothers and Blessed Elías, there is a special bond; a bond sealed with the gift of life and the shedding of blood, but it is a bond that carries years of friendship, closeness, mutual service, and knowing each other as individuals—as he, a priest in his ministry in a parish that at the time was under the Order of St. Augustine, and they, who were surely active in Christian life, participating in the liturgy and staying close. So, between the priest and the brothers, there was this bond of friendship that would reach a very important point in the lives of all three: giving their own lives and offering this great testimony by shedding their own blood in a circumstance of persecution.
Because we must remember that when speaking of martyrdom, every martyrdom evolves or happens within a context of persecution. And so, at that moment, with so many difficulties and such a complicated time in the society and the Church of that era, they experienced this phase in their lives, and this bond of a shared life reached what I would call a solemn moment. That is, the decision to stay together until the end.
They had the human possibility of backing down or continuing their own lives and returning to their families, but they decided to stay with the Father. The Father, who was their pastor and the one who encouraged their faith and that of the Christian community here. They decided to continue the path until the end with him. So, it is a bond that begins at a human level of friendship but reaches a moment of deeper intimacy, sealed by the blood shed.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
So that our audience can grasp this unity and understand it better: many of us laypeople have had, like myself and others, the pleasure of being altar servers, sacristans, the ones who arrange the chairs, help clean the temple, feed the priest, or assist him. A bond of great friendship, affection, and family-like fraternity is formed with the priest. But then comes the moment when they are told: "You are going to die with him; they are going to kill you." I think that changes the tone.
I was telling the Father that here in Mexico, there are many Mexicans who know what it is like to face a firearm, who know the threat of a gun, and know what it is like to lose a family member for nothing. I believe that at the moment they realize they are going to die—in fact, one of them was so terrified, because they are human, that he died of a heart attack, and according to the history I have accessed, they still gave him the coup de grâce, while the other brother did receive the gunshots—but there is a detail I didn't know and the Father will confirm. Before suffering this martyrdom, they told Father Nieves: "We will see each other in heaven." I told the Father off-camera: "That is an act of faith." It is saying: "I believe in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen."
What can we think of two laymen, Father—because they are laypeople like you and me listening—they aren't religious or priests, they are two laymen. What can we think of two laymen speaking this way to their parish priest, and then the priest telling them: "Yes, don't worry, sons, we will see each other there," confirming what they are saying? What can we take from this detail of two laymen from Cortazar saying this?
Father Josef Sciberrás:
Yes, you are right; it is an act of faith, and I also want to add that it is an act of hope. We have just closed the Jubilee Year, the Jubilee of Hope, where we spoke and reflected a lot on hope. In the end, our hope, which is born from faith and manifests through love, is that beyond death, there is something: there is the Father waiting for us with open arms, the Father who is Love. So, what you are saying is true. It is a solemn act. That is why I said it is a very solemn moment because one has to think, decide, and say: "I want this, I will do it, and I will embrace the death that will touch us all in one way or another." But deciding because you know it is your destiny, what is going to happen in a few minutes... that is another level. And that can only be understood from the viewpoint of faith.
That is why martyrs are like a contradiction, because all of us are attached to life, we want to live until the very last second. But from the viewpoint of faith, with great hope and having previously received the love of God—because without receiving God's love, none of this is understood—the solemn moment arrives. You are threatened by a persecutor and there is this beautiful dialogue between the three who decide to embrace death, make the extreme sacrifice, and shed their blood because they know that shedding blood for Christ is not a sterile act, but a very fruitful one. It is an act that produces love. We can see this here in La Cañada, but also in the entire region: what the testimony of Blessed Elías produces, and what the testimony of so many already beatified and canonized martyrs produces.
Opening the cause of the Sierra brothers must be seen under this light: the light of faith. Because martyrdom is understood only from the perspective of faith, with the hope that draws us. Even at a human level, if we don't have hope, life would be much harder. At a metaphysical or supernatural level, having hope is having one's gaze fixed "beyond"—that reality is not just what I see, that there is more, and that "more" is God.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
There is a moment in this maximum, culminating instant of this sacrifice—this execution, because it was an execution, an assassination—where Father Nieves, before the act happens, presents something that is a sign of what the Church is: mercy. He gives them absolution, and I believe the Eucharist—I don't know if both sacraments were present—but the sacraments were there to show God's mercy. I think this is also very important: the Church is always looking after her children at every moment, and especially in the final instant of an honorable death like martyrdom. It's easy to say, but living it is another thing. I think there is an important role for the Church there, in the person of Father Nieves.
Father Josef Sciberrás:
Yes, Father Nieves is a minister of reconciliation, a pastor who, as part of his vocation as a priest, shows the merciful face of God. We know this because, thank God, we have a lot of information from the process of Father Nieves. We even have the testimony of the executioner himself, the one who gave the order. So, there is a lot of information.
When they knew what was going to happen, Father Nieves asked only one thing of the persecutor: that they [the Sierra brothers] be the first to die, so that he could give them absolution before dying. That was granted. This is part of the mercy a pastor shows to his people, the people entrusted to his care. Another face of mercy is Father Nieves' act of forgiveness toward the persecutor himself, giving his blessing to those about to kill him and giving them his watch, etc. These are acts that can only be understood from the perspective of faith. For us today, martyrdom is a call to rediscover the value of faith in our lives.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
I want to address an important aspect. We are talking about two brothers from a family, the Sierra brothers, from a rural background. Our Guanajuato is still very rural even though the cities are large. You ask someone where they are from, and they say: "I'm from La Cañada," "I'm from Mandinga," "I'm from Las Fuentes"—the communities near Cortazar. Many people have had to go north [to the U.S.] to work, and they see in the Sierra brothers much of what has been done in La Cañada for Father Nieves—the temple, the church. It's our migrant brothers who say, "I'm going to send this back to the ranch" for the church or the festivities.
But they are two laymen, Father. That is what catches my attention. When one checks the calendar of saints, many are religious or consecrated persons. We laypeople are the "ordinary people," the ones who make up the bulk of the Church—the infantry. And now the Diocese of Celaya and the Church are looking at two from the "back of the line," so to speak—from the infantry—saying: "Come here, it's your turn now." That seems very significant to me. What can you tell us about this, Father?
Father Josef Sciberrás:
Well, that is important, first, because it makes us rediscover the common vocation we all have without distinction: the vocation to holiness. It is a vocation that makes no distinction. We are all called to be saints. The paths are very different, but we are all called to be saints. By receiving baptism, we all participate in the same life of Christ. Theologically, we are part of this Mystical Body of Christ, each in our own way, with our own attitudes and limitations.
Seeing laypeople presented as models of life—in this case, models of giving one's life until the end out of imitation of Christ—has double the value. Because, as you say, laypeople are the vast majority of the Church. They have a very important role in society; they must sanctify society from within because they are there, in all the places that need to be evangelized—places where a priest or religious might not be able to reach. A committed layman who daily rediscovers his vocation and mission is a seed of holiness. Laypeople reaching the glory of the altars is a constant reminder in the Church to rediscover the vocation to holiness in the world.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
The sacrifice and martyrdom of the Sierra brothers happened during a very difficult time in Mexico: the Cristero persecution. The government showed an anti-clerical, anti-Christian, and anti-ecclesial attitude. They went after the hierarchy, but also the bulk of the Church—baptized housewives, children. We have the case of Joselito in Michoacán. In this case, it was Cortazar's turn, in the community of Cañada de Caracheo.
Do you think this attitude—which the government of that time might have seen as "rebellion" because these two laymen were helping a priest—is also, from the Church's and a human perspective, a manifestation of non-conformity when authority is not being truly just, not responding to the community, and not respecting religious freedom? Back then, there was no Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but there was a need to respect people's religion. Do you think this is a way for a layman to say, "I don't agree; you aren't doing right, government"?
Father Josef Sciberrás:
Of course. And I believe that the layman, or any Christian, shouldn't just say "I don't agree, this is going badly," but also be positive and suggest a path based on Gospel values. In the end, being Christian isn't just a cultural attitude; it transforms us from within and makes us partakers in the life of Christ. Thus, the layman—man, woman, child, elderly—has this vocation to be a "sign of contradiction" within the social context.
You've explained the context of the persecution, and one might fall into the trap of saying, "Oh, that's in the past; it doesn't exist anymore." But we must remember that today, in many parts of the world, many Christians are still persecuted. We are in 2026, and there are still persecutions. For the Jubilee we just closed, a huge list of priests, religious, and laypeople killed in contexts of persecution in various countries from 2000 to 2025 was presented to the Holy Father. Persecution is real. Formal or informal persecution is present in many social contexts. It would be an error to think martyrdom is only from the past or the first centuries of the Church. Martyrdom remains a very living part of the Church. The testimony of these two laymen—we speak of martyrdom, though we must wait for the Church's final judgment after the discernment of the process starting tomorrow—is a striking moment to rediscover our deepest vocation: holiness.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
There is an important detail in Cañada de Caracheo. The surname "Sierra" is very common; there are many descendants—uncles, cousins, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. The Sierra blood is in many families here. Do you think this should also be a testimony for them? In Mexico, we say children are like the fingers on a hand—not all are the same, some are good, some are average—but this should encourage the Sierra families here to be light, to be witnesses, and to carry this martyrdom with dignity. I believe these brothers are watching us from heaven. What we seek is for the Church to officialize it, but it should be a testimony for the people of Cortazar that anyone can be a saint. I even joked that "even someone from Cortazar or La Cañada can be a saint." Do you think this is a sign to make us see: "Look how they were, so that you can be the same, so you defend the Church, your faith, and give testimony"?
Father Josef Sciberrás:
Certainly. This has happened many times in the lives of saints. When one reflects, as St. Augustine said: "Why them and not me?" That is a question we must ask. Saints are our companions.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
You turned it around on me... I like that. Very good. (Smiles)
Father Josef Sciberrás:
Saints are our companions. Beyond the Sierra surname or the town, testimony has no time or borders. It is a testimony that encompasses and includes everyone. We aren't all called to be [bloody] martyrs, but we are all called to live our "small martyrdoms" every day. Every day presents moments where one must decide whether to embrace the cross or not—illness, family problems, various challenges. Embracing the cross from the perspective of faith is what a martyr does, and it's a task we are all called to in the circumstances of life.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
We were talking earlier, and it came to mind: Father is showing us those words of Christ: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." You spoke earlier of another kind of martyrdom—not necessarily dying, but the daily work, sacrifice, pains, and the "scrapes" of life. That is another way to be a saint, Father.
Father Josef Sciberrás:
We must remember the original meaning of the word martyr, which is "witness." Over time, in ecclesiastical terminology, it became associated with extreme sacrifice—shedding blood because a persecutor kills someone out of hatred for the faith. But the martyr is a witness. In daily life, we have this call to be witnesses, and therefore, martyrs. In medieval theology, they spoke of "white martyrdom"—of virgins or other types—that send the message that an eternal life awaits us. Part of the Creed is the hope of the future life, eternal life, and the resurrection of the body. We must embrace this and keep it in our minds and hearts.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
To bring it to our times, Father—and with this I conclude—does this mean a mother is also a witness/martyr, perhaps a single mother or someone who was raped but chose to give life to her child rather than abort? Is that another form of testimony?
Father Josef Sciberrás:
In a canonical context, the word "martyr" has a specific meaning, but we can certainly use the term "witness of faith." The Church used this term for the list of thousands of people killed or who sacrificed their lives in the last 25 years: "Witnesses of the Faith." The example you gave, and many others, are witnesses of the faith. Hopefully, every cause that begins in hope—leading to beatification and, God willing, canonization—reminds us all (young and old) of our vocation to holiness.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
I want to thank the audience, thank you for your company, and thank Father Josef Sciberrás. Thanks to the Cathedral of Celaya, Father Samuel, and everyone involved. This is historic; Cortazar and Cañada de Caracheo should be full of joy. Is there anything else you'd like to say, Father?
Father Josef Sciberrás:
One last point: this is the first cause opened here in the Diocese of Celaya. It is a "young" diocese, and it is a great blessing that the first cause features two laypeople and two martyrs. It is a cause for the diocese that seeks to revitalize it. I want to thank the Bishop for all his support. This is very important for the Diocese of Celaya.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
Father, can you give your blessing to the audience?
Father Josef Sciberrás:
Of course. We ask the Lord's blessing upon us, our families, our loved ones, and especially those going through a moment of martyrdom or sacrifice due to illness or life problems of any kind. We ask for God's blessing. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
Amen. Thank you. I am Eugenio Amézquita, with Father Josef Sciberrás, Postulator for the cause of the Sierra brothers. Thank you. #MetroNewsMx #GuanajuatoDesconocido
