Although Santa Muerte is not sanctioned by the Catholic Church, many believers are also practicing Catholics, recognizing the Holy Trinity (god, jesus and the holy spirit) as superior to La Santissima
. The actual origins of Santa Muerte are somewhat ambiguous, but the most common explanation is that she is a syncretism of The Virgin Mary and the Mesoamerican goddess
Mictecacihuatl, to whom offerings would be made to insure a peaceful death and a place in the underworld after death.
