Hermanos Cheos: Lay Preachers Who Preserved Catholicism

Abstract

Of all the lands where priests have been scarce or non-existent, few can match the organization and dispersal of the Hermanos Cheos to address that situation. Their development into a coherent and effective movement came only gradually and with very little support by the official Catholic Church. In fact, at the beginning of the 20th century only a handful of middle-level pastors and administrators saw considerable value in lay men assuming preaching and teaching roles that typically had been reserved to priests or to well trained and approved (by the Church) laity.