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< Return to Famous Catholics El Gato Negro: Mexican Catholic superhero

The Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Character
Francisco Guerrero
El Gato Negro


El Gato Negro (whose real name is Francisco Guerrero) is a super-hero created by Richard Dominguez. The character stars in a self-titled series published by (Azteca Productions).

Richard Dominguez, the creator of El Gato Negro, contacted this website to provide information about the character and to identify el Gato Negro's religion is: "Catholic/Neo-Catechumenate."

The fact that el Gato Negro is a Neocatechumenate, along with the excerpted comic book panels provided by his creator, makes it clear that this character is a devout Catholic.

Neocatechumenates are dedicated to fostering increased levels of community among Catholics, and to developing increased spirituality and religious devotion among Catholics. "The Neocatechumenal Way or Neocatechumenate is a ministry within the Roman Catholic Church that is dedicated to adult faith formation. It was founded by the Spanish artist Kiko Arguello in 1964. It was launched in response to Vatican II, and believes that the Church must react to social changes of the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly secularism, by becoming more of a community and returning to the teachings of the early Christians. Over the past thirty years it has built seminaries around the world and is today one of the fastest-growing ministries within Roman Catholicism." (From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neocatechumenate; 20 April 2006)

Below: El Gato Negro #3 (The First Series), Fall 1995, Page 7, Panels 1-6:
El Gato Negro

Below: El Gato Negro #3 (The First Series), Fall 1995, Page 8, Panel 1:
El Gato Negro

From: "el Gato Negro" page on "An International Catalogue of Superheroes" website (http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/g/gatonegr.htm; viewed 20 April 2006):
Real Name: Francisco "Panchito" Guerrero
Identity/Class: Normal human
Occupation: Social Worker
Affiliations: Baldo
Enemies: El Graduado, Armando Ochoa
Known Relatives: Agustin Guerrero (El Gato Negro, grandfather)
Aliases: Nocturnal Warrior; The Black Cat
Base of Operations: Rio Grande Valley, Texas (lives in Edinburg, Texas)
First Appearance: el Gato Negro #1 (Azteca Productions, October 1993)

Powers/Abilities: Extremely fit, at the peak of human capability. Expert in boxing, aikido, ninjutsu, taijutsu and a master of submission holds from Lucha Libre (freestyle wrestling). His mask is equipped with special lenses granting him night vision, and he often employs shuriken (his "cat claws") and a pair of batons to further expand his combat effectiveness.

History: Social worker Francisco Guerrero grew tired of watching the way criminals preyed on the weak and innocent. Inspired by the example of his grandfather, who had been a masked wrestler and crimefighter in the 1970s, Francisco adopted the costumed identity of el Gato Negro, the Black Cat, the Nocturnal Warrior, a being who was to become the scourge of drug smugglers and coyotes (immigrant smugglers) who operated around his home area of Rio Grande Valley, down near the Texas-Mexico border.

Comments: Created, written and illustrated by Richard Dominguez. Copyright to him and Azteca Productions. In September 2005, El Gato Negro guest starred in the Dallas newspaper strip "Baldo", in a story specially written and drawn by Richard Dominguez, as part of Hispanic Heritage Month.


Webpage created 20 April 2006. Last modified 20 April 2006.
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