Forty years ago, Father Stanley Rother of Oklahoma was killed while serving as a missionary in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala. In 2016, Pope Francis declared him a martyr for the Faith, and he was beatified in Oklahoma City a year later. In marking
On Dec. 2, 2016, Pope Francis officially recognized Father Stanley Rother's martyrdom for the Faith and for his people at Santiago Atitlán, making him the first American martyr and the first priest from the United States to be beatified -- a historic