In this thesis I examine the significance of Mexico's first saint, San Felipe de Jesus, relative to the nascent movement toward independent Mexican statehood, as revealed in a close analysis of the murals in the Cuernavaca cathedral in which he appears. I place the murals within their historical context relative to contemporaneous artistic examples, and present an analysis of the murals with special attention paid to three complex issues: their authorship, style and date. Furthermore, I explore the socio-political importance of the cult of Felipe de Jesus in the history of creole colonial Mexico, relative to the murals' date. The Cuernavaca martyr murals, I conclude, reveal the profound nature of the muralist's application of artistic style to his subject, and the importance of 'nuestro joven' San Felipe de Jesus underlying their production
