He is not sure of the exact date. Alex Flores thinks it was 1927 or 1928 when his grandfather was martyred for refusing to renounce his faith.
“I get emotional talking about my grandfather,” said Flores, 79, grandson of Eliseo Gonzalez, one of more than 2,000 victims in Mexico’s Cristero War 1926-29.
“I’ve been very fortunate in my life, and somehow, I think I’ve been protected in a mysterious way by him.”
On the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of one of the most violent persecutions of Catholics in modern history, Flores wants to preserve the memory of his grandfather and the sacrifices of the Mexican Martyrs — six priests who were canonized in 2000 — whose feast day is May 21.
Eliseo Gonzalez was a 26-year-old husband and father of two young daughters when he was captured by federal forces for protecting priests that continued to defy authorities by offering Mass.
“The clergy were not allowed to say Mass and the people were not allowed to practice their faith, so they did it in hiding,” said Flores, a parishioner of St. John Neumann Church in Reston. “My grandfather was told to expose the identities of the priests and to deny his faith. His response was, ‘Viva Cristo Rey’ (Long live Christ the King) and ‘Viva Virgin de Guadalupe’ ” (Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe).
Flores’ mother was 2 years old when her father was executed. His grandmother remarried and Flores heard little about his grandfather, after whom he was named. As the story faded, the young man who immigrated to America also lost his name when a schoolteacher in Nevada couldn’t pronounce Eliseo and changed his identity on the spot.
“I was 10 years old and there was nobody at that time who spoke Spanish and there were no Hispanic kids,” he said. “And for whatever reason this teacher said, ‘Your name in English is Alex.’ I didn’t know any better, so I just accepted it and it was changed officially when I became a U.S. citizen.”
As the decades passed, Flores married, raised three children, and clung to scattered memories of his grandfather. He had never heard from any of the descendants of his mother’s sister, until he received a biographical sketch of Eliseo Gonzalez, published in December 2025, by Ralph Garcia, a cousin and professor at the University of Southern California.
“Though Eliseo did not live to see his children grow, his legacy endures through the extraordinary achievements of his descendants in the United States,” wrote Garcia. “From the humble origins of a persecuted ranching family, the next generations rose to prominence across diverse fields.”
Gonzalez’ grandchildren and great-grandchildren have earned degrees from prestigious universities and enjoyed successful careers as medical doctors, engineers and business owners. Alex’s son Fernando is the co-author of the popular book, “Cooking With the Saints.”
Flores’ knowledge about the handsome young husband and father who sacrificed his life to save the life of priests is finally coming into focus. He wants all Catholics to know about his grandfather and others who died for the faith in the Cristero War.
“People should not forget what happened,” he said. “The government wanted to do away with the Catholic Church. It did not work.”
