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Dear catholic.com visitors: This Catholic Answers website, with all its free resources, is the world’s largest source of explanations for Catholic beliefs and practices. We receive no funding from the institutional Church and rely entirely on your generosity to sustain this website with trustworthy, accessible content. If every visitor this month donated $1, catholic.com would be fully funded for an entire year. If you’ve never made a gift, now is the time. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar this week only. Thanks and God bless.

‘Santa Muerte’ Is Not Holy

Question:

What is the Santa Muerte?

Answer:

Santa Muerte (“Saint/Holy Death”) is essentially a death cult. It is a kind of deity, a female folk saint venerated primarily in Mexico and the southwestern US, that is the epitome of an anti-gospel (it preaches violence, hatred, revenge, etc). This cult has been tied to violent gangs and cartels and is not a genuine devotion of Catholicism.

Recommend reading: Santa Muerte is no saint, say Mexican bishops

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