MEXICO CITY (AP) — A local leader of the Mexican folk saint cult “La Santa Muerte” was gunned down at an altar to the skeletal figure late Friday, authorities said. Two other people were ...

Santa Muerte, or "Saint Death", is a Mesoamerican folk saint and personification of death. Folk saints are those not recognized as legitimate and condemned by the church. Despite this, Santa Muerte is ...

Reflecting "the uncertainty of this world," St. Jude Thaddeus is a fixture in altars honoring the disappeared, while Santa Muerte has taken root in communities ravaged by violent crime.