Padre Luchador

Most of you probably thought of Nacho Libre with that title. Well, the truth is that movie was based on a true story, about a Priest who did don the mask to raise funds to help an orphanage. In Mexico, he is known as Fray Tormenta. A few days ago, Vice Magazine did an article about him.

In theory, a priest wearing a lucha libre mask sounds strange. But in the case of Padre Fray Tormenta, it looks and feels completely normal. Perhaps because he designed the mask himself. “The yellow,” he says, “is for the liveliness that Fray Tormenta must display in the ring. The red is for the blood that Fray Tormenta must spill on behalf of his orphanage.”

 

I hope you enjoy this article as much as I do. Fray Tormenta has been a figure that I have been fascinated with for a long while. I try to read all the articles I can find on him.

As much as I love Mexican culture, that is not the reason I find Fray Tormenta so compelling. When you hear Fr. Sergio Gutiérrez (his real name) talk about the things he’s seen and endured, it makes you realize how wonderful the Church is. Lately, I’ve been having a rough go of it, with pressure from expectations and thoughts of some Catholics, who want the faithful to be a certain way, and on the other side are those that react and wish for me to attack or to illustrate a level of irreverence and disregard for everything. Truth be told, I am definitely not the most reverent person, and my prayer life is certainly something that could be improved. As Catholics, it seems to me, sometimes, that one has to walk that fine line between a strict legalism and a casual dismissal of all Church Law in favor of the most diluted message one can give.

There is a balance to be struck, but I think the example of Fray Tormenta/Fr. Sergio Guiterrez is a good example to follow. That doesn’t necessarily mean we should all take up masked wrestling, but would that be a bad thing?

Image used is public domain / Wikimedia Commons.