Collection: 📚 Blessed Stanley Rother

Blessed Stanley Rother was an American Catholic priest and missionary from Oklahoma who gave his life serving the Tz'utujil people of Guatemala. Born and raised on a farm in Okarche, Oklahoma, he was ordained a priest in 1963 and volunteered in 1968 for his diocese's mission in Santiago Atitlán, where he learned Spanish and the Tz'utujil language, celebrated Mass in their language, and helped translate the New Testament.

As violence intensified during Guatemala's civil war, Rother's parishioners and fellow catechists were targeted and killed, and his own name appeared on a death list. Although he briefly returned to Oklahoma for his safety, he chose to return to his people, famously writing, "The shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger." On July 28, 1981, three men entered his rectory and shot him to death.

The Church officially recognized Rother as a martyr for the faith in 2016, meaning a miracle was not required for his beatification. He was beatified in Oklahoma City on September 23, 2017, becoming the first U.S.-born priest to be beatified and the first recognized martyr born in the United States. His cause for canonization remains open, and a recognized miracle through his intercession is still required for canonization.

Lived: March 27, 1935 – July 28, 1981 | Feast Day: July 28 | Beatified: September 23, 2017, by Pope Francis
Patronage: Not yet officially assigned; he is particularly associated with missionaries, priests, martyrs, and the people of Guatemala.