renounce his faith in Christ, under threat of death. He refused to accept apostasy. To break his resolve, he was made to watch the hanging of another Cristero that they had in custody, but instead José encouraged the man, saying that they would soon meet again in Heaven after death. In prison, José prayed the Rosary daily and wrote an emotional letter to his mother, saying that he was ready to fulfill the will of God to whom he dedicated himself. His father attempted to raise a ransom to save him, but was not able to appease the government in time to do so, thus failing to secure the release of his son. Others recalled the gruesome events that transpired after the government's failure to break José's resolve on the evening of February 10, 1928: "Consequently they cut the bottom of his feet and obliged him to walk around the town toward the cemetery. They also at times cut him with a machete until he was bleeding from several wounds. He cried and moaned with pain, but he did not give in. At times they stopped him and said, 'If you shout, "Death to Christ the King" we will spare your life'. José would only shout, 'I will never give in. Viva Cristo Rey!'" Burial and relics The remains of José Luis Sánchez del Río are enshrined above a side altar in the Church of Saint James the Apostle in Sahuayo, his hometown. Sainthood The sainthood proceedings opened in Zamora on May 1, 1996 in a diocesan process that continued until October 25, 1996. A week prior to the conclusion of that phase the Congregation for the Causes of Saints declared "nihil obstat" (nothing against) to the cause on October 21, 1996; this granted him the title Servant of God, the first stage in the sainthood process. The process was later ratified on November 29, 2002, and allowed for officials to draft and submit in 2003 the Positio on his martyrdom. Pope John Paul II approved the findings on June 22, 2004, thus allowing his beatification. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on November 20, 2005, in Mexico; the Cardinal-Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints presided on behalf of the pontiff. The miracle needed for his canonization attributed to José Luis Sánchez del Río the inexplicable recovery of a baby in Mexico who doctors said had