The history of Santa Muerte is a bit of a mystery, other than its roots in Mexico. It was only recently that the saint became a mainstream figure for millions in South and North America. However, the Vatican made a statement distancing the Catholic faith from the Saint of Holy Death. In 2013, they even went as far as to call the cult ?a blasphemy against religion.? But that hasn?t stopped Santa Muerte?s popularity from growing exponentially, with her most famous shrine standing in downtown Mexico City. Of course, it was only a matter of time until people turned the saint into body art. Here are some tattoos honoring La Santa Muerte.
Some people are really into the idea of making their whole back a tattooed shrine to the saint.
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La Santa Muerte is her own cult separate from other religions. But, according to The Huffington Post, La Santa Muerte is not too interested in people being completely devoted. In fact, some devotees of La Santa Muerte still actively practice other religions simultaneously.
Most images of La Santa Muerte are of a skeleton wearing the robes of a saint.
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While the rate of practicing Catholics continues to decline, La Santa Muerte?s followers are actually growing.
?She has between 10 and 12 million devotees, and she?s only been public for 12 years,? Andrew Chestnut, the author of ?Devoted To Death?, told Vice.
You really can?t deny that this saint is a bit creepy and definitely something your parents would not be okay with.
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Part of the folklore surrounding La Santa Muerte is that she is the most efficient and fastest saint in answering prayers, but that service comes at a price.
La Santa Muerte will answer your prayers but only if you make her a promise. Failure to follow through on your end has serious repercussions, like the loss of a loved one.
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After decades as a fringe saint, La Santa Muerte is experiencing a revival and has been launched into the mainstream consciousness of Mexicans, South Americans and Catholics.
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According to The National Catholic Review, the jump to the mainstream world has so startled the Catholic church that officials are grasping for ways to push La Santa Muerte back into the fringes.
The Catholic church has taken the stance that La Santa Muerte is a Satanic cult.
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Enriqueta Romero is the woman heavily credited for bringing La Santa Muerte out of the shadows and into the world. The first real altar to the saint appeared in front of her home in Barrio Tepito in Mexico City.
But Enriqueta Romero and Enriqueta Vargas are making sure that La Santa Muerte is known throughout Mexico.
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That?s right. Two women with the same name have taken a stance against the Catholic church. Enriqueta Vargas live in Tultitln and performs weddings and baptisms for followers of La Santa Muerte.
Despite a continued campaign against La Santa Muerte, the Catholic church seems to be losing the battle against the saint.
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?Many people here have a devotion to her and still consider themselves good Catholics,? Chesnut told The Catholic National Review. ?And that is a real challenge for the church.?
And Enriqueta Romero is not concerned over the continued pressure by the Catholic church to hide La Santa Muerte.
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?They can just go ahead and do that,? Romero told National Geographic about the pressures from the church. ?But have you seen how empty their churches are??
Wow.
Serious shade here.
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