This thesis examines the role of the Catholic ideology of Cristo Rey during the Cristero Conflict, which lasted from 1926 to 1929. This conflict was an armed rebellion led by militant Catholics who opposed the Mexican government's enforcement of anti-clerical provisions in the Mexican Constitution of 1917. This thesis argues that the creation of the Cristo Rey devotion in Guanajuato, Mexico as well as the statue erected dedicated to that devotion in 1923 demonstrate the early role the Mexican clergy played in escalating tensions between the Church and the State. It further demonstrates that the militant Catholic interpretation of Cristo Rey was impactful outside of Mexico.