White House marks 45th anniversary of martyrdom of Blessed Stanley Rother

The White House issued a presidential message commemorating the 45th anniversary of the martyrdom of Blessed Stanley Rother, continuing the administrationʼs pattern of recognizing prominent Catholic feast days and observances.

“Today, Melania and I join with American Catholics and people of faith all across the world in honoring the towering legacy of Father Stanley Rother — an Oklahoma farm boy, the first American-born martyr beatified by the Catholic Church, and a champion of human dignity who heroically laid down his life to bring the light of Jesus Christ to a people plagued by horrific darkness,” President Donald Trump, who is not Catholic, said in the July 28 message.

Rother was an Oklahoma native who became a missionary priest in 1968, serving in “the war-torn highlands of Guatemala, then ravaged by conflict,” the message said.

“Though thousands of Catholics were forcibly disappeared and viciously murdered during the Guatemalan Civil War, Father Rother nonetheless spent 13 years bringing the Gospel to those devastated by poverty and violence — translating sacred Scripture and helping to build a school, a hospital, and the region’s first Catholic radio station —…