Devoted to death
Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint

R. Andrew Chesnut offers a fascinating portrayal of Santa Muerte, a skeleton saint whose cult has attracted millions of devotees over the past decade. Although condemned by mainstream churches, this folk saint's supernatural powers appeal to millions of Latin Americans and immigrants in the U.S. Devotees believe the Bony Lady (as she is affectionately called) to be the fastest and most effective miracle worker, and as such, her statuettes and paraphernalia now outsell those of the Virgin of Guadalupe and Saint Jude, two other giants of Mexican religiosity. In particular, Chesnut shows Santa Muerte has become the patron saint of drug traffickers, playing an important role as protector of peddlers of crystal meth and marijuana

Chapter 1: Origins and History of Devotion to Saint Death. Chapter 2: A New Religious Movement. Chapter 3: Crime, Punishment, and the Mexican Drug War. Chapter 4: Santa Muerte as Love Doctor. Chapter 5: Santa Muerte in the Commercial Economy. Chapter 6: Santa Muerte as Divine Healer. Chapter 7: Santa Muerte as the Saint of Justice. Chapter 8: Conclusion.

R. Andrew Chesnut is Bishop Walter F. Sullivan Endowed Chair in Catholic Studies and Professor of Religious Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University.