JFK in Mexico: Catholicism, Memory and Mourning Across Borders

Dr. Matthew J. Butler joins the Museum for this program, JFK in Mexico: Catholicism, Memory and Mourning Across Borders. Dr. Matthew J. Butler, Ph.D. presents an analysis of the emotional, religious and political responses to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy across Mexico. Through historical analysis and visual media, the program situates mourning practices within broader conversations about religion, national identity and cross-border political relationships during the Cold War era. Q&A to follow. Museum members receive discounted ticket pricing. Contact membership@jfk.org to learn more. Reception: 6:00-7:00 p.m Program: 7:00-8:00 p.m. PURCHASE TICKETS ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Matthew Butler, Ph.D. is a historian specializing in modern Mexican history, the history of Catholicism in Mexico and the U.S. Southwest, and rural and Indigenous communities. His work on the assassination of President Kennedy is informed by President John F. Kennedy's historic role as the first Catholic president of the United States and by his strong public reception in Mexico, including the widely celebrated 1962 visit to Mexico City by President Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy. In addition to his Kennedy-related research, he is completing a book on liberal Catholicism in Mexico from Independence through the Revolution and an edited volume on Mexican American historian Carlos Eduardo Castañeda. His current research also explores the history of the modern Mexican bullfight and the travels of English novelist Graham Greene in southern Mexico during the 1930s. He is editor of Mexican Studies/Mexican Studies and director of the Hijuelas Project, which documents Indigenous community history in nineteenth-century Michoacán.