Sundays with the Saints

Blessed Father Stanley Rother (1935–1981) was a priest from Oklahoma who served as a missionary in Guatemala. He learned the local language, farmed alongside his parishioners, and became deeply loved by the people. Despite threats during a time of violence, he chose to stay, saying, “The shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger.” He was martyred in 1981 and beatified in 2017 as the first U.S.-born priest and martyr.