Santa Muerte is described by her followers as a “powerful and mystical Mexican female folk saint of death … depicted as a female Grim Reaper… While she is caring, motherly, and generous with her devotees, Santa Muerte is also vindictive or wrathful to those who do not come through on their promises to her, who disrespect her, or who insult and disrespect her children, her loyal devotees.”9 Meanwhile, the Catholic Church has officially condemned worship of Santa Muerte as a “the celebration of devastation and of hell.”10 She is a fast growing religious icon, with an estimated 10-12 million devotees in Mexico, the United States, and Central America.11 The earliest documented reference to Santa Muerte was in an Inquisition report on idolatrous practices of indigenous people in 1797.12
Santa Muerte is strongly associated with criminals, especially cartel drug lords. Her protection is frequently invoked by people on the fringes of legal society because “she is seen as a non-judgemental saint that can be invoked for some not-so-holy petitions. ‘If somebody is going to be doing something illegal, and they want to be protected from the law enforcement, they feel awkward asking God to protect them… Devotees also feel comfortable going to her for favors of vengeance – something they would never ask of God or a canonized saint.”13
Despite the Catholic Church’s official rejection of Santa Muerte, she probably could only have risen to such popularity in a Catholic context. Figures of Death in the form of a skeletal person have been part of Catholic iconography since the medieval period, and were brought to Mexico by Spanish colonizers. Mexican folk Catholicism has many “folk saints, who could be divided into two groups: the informal and the semi-formal saints. The informal saints are figures declared by their believers as saints, although they have never been canonized.”14 Santa Muerte’s devotees similarly combine orthodox Catholic practices (rosaries, novenas, pilgrimages, masses) with more pagan/indigenous practices that are also associated with “New Age” spiritual practices (home altars with offerings like food, tobacco, alcohol, and flowers; use of spells, etc.)15 In conclusion, Santa Muerte is a Mexican folk saint associated with the fringes of society and condemned by the Catholic Church who nevertheless has gained increased popularity since the turn of the 21st century.
