A new article in TIME magazine explores the rise in popularity of Santa Muerte by examining "Saint Death’s" explosion in Chicago over the past decade. According to the article, Santa Muerte has a distinct look:

The personage is Mexico’s idolatrous form of the Grim Reaper: a skeleton — sometimes male, sometimes female — covered in a white, black or red cape, carrying a scythe, or a globe.

Santa Muerte is nothing new. In fact, many of Mexico’s poor neighborhoods have long prayed to the Saint in the hopes of receiving a "life-saving miracle". But Mexican authorities consider Santa Muerte bad news, associating it with "prostitution, drugs, kidnappings and homicides."

Furthermore, Mexico’s Catholic church considers those who worship Santa Muerte devil-worshiping cultists.

Now that Santa Muerte has made its way to the U.S., American Catholic officials are not quite sure to react. So far only the Catholic archediocese in Chicago has expressed particular concern, warning followers to destroy Santa Muerte icons.  However, officials in  Los Angeles, New York, and Houston—cities which have experienced a similar Santa Muerte uprising—have remained quiet.

Here’s a summary of Santa Muerte’s rise to prominence in the U.S., from TIME:

    Santa Muerte began appearing in U.S. neighborhoods with large Mexican populations only in the last decade. Walk down 26th street here in Little Village, one of Chicago’s largest Mexican neighborhoods, and notice the tiny shops, or botanicas, selling statues, candles and palm-sized prayer cards bearing Santa Muerte’s image. Notice references to Santa Muerte in Spanish-language newspapers. Young Mexican-American men are marking their bodies with Santa Muerte tattoos to prove their devotion. Middle-class, suburban-bred Mexican-Americans are snapping up black tee-shirts bearing Santa Muerte’s image to reconnect with what they perceive to be part of their heritage. Last weekend, a Chicago art gallery opened an exhibit showcasing images from Tepito — with Santa Muerte figuring prominently. And Santa Muerte may gain even more credibility: the famed Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal narrates Saint Death, a new documentary about the phenomenon.

Comment: Is worshipping Santa Muerte a sacrilege, or no different that praying to any other saint? Is the saint’s rise in popularity just a trend, or is it here to stay? Tell us what you think by posting a blog comment.

Read the complete TIME article here.