July 28: A Martyr for the Poor

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is July 28th, and our story is A Martyr for the Poor. On the morning of July 28th, 1981, Sister Linda Wanner was on her knees, scooping blood off the floor and into a mason jar. The blood came from Father Stanley Rother, a missionary priest gunned down in his library hours earlier. Rother's executioners belonged to a death squad that did the dirty work of the Guatemalan army. They killed Rother like they killed others because he loved Guatemala's poor, and he loved them even though he suspected this day would come.

Rother didn't necessarily suspect his martyrdom in 1968, when, as a newly ordained priest, he arrived in the remote mission of Santiago Atitlan to serve the Tsutuhil Mayans. Nor did he suspect it in the twelve years that followed, years where he worked alongside the Tsutuhil, farming the land, repairing the church, and building a hospital.

But he did have his suspicions by 1980, when those who worked among the poor began disappearing. The country's right-wing extremists had placed their names on death lists, labeling them all as communists. Rother was no communist. His concern was for Christ, the sacraments, and his people. But he knew that would make no difference to the military, and it didn't.

In January 1981, Rother's name appeared on a death list. Before military assassins could carry out their orders, he escaped to his parents' farm in Oklahoma. He remained there for four months. Then, in April, after learning that his name had been removed from the list, he returned to Guatemala. But his source was wrong. In the early hours of July 28th, assassins found Rother in his office. He was dead in minutes.

Rother's family transported his body back to Oklahoma, where the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City opened his cause for canonization. In December 2016, Pope Francis officially recognized Rother as a martyr for the faith, making him the first martyr from the United States and the first American-born priest to be beatified. Blessed Stanley's heart, however, and that mason jar filled with blood, remained in death where they belonged in life, with the people of Santiago Atitlan.

Rother's Martyrdom challenges us to consider how deeply we commit to serving others, especially when doing so carries personal cost. It also reminds us that faithfulness often intersects with justice, courage, and compassion in tangible ways, leaving a lasting legacy for communities and future generations.

Reflect on a cause or community you serve. How can you act with courage and consistency, even when it's difficult? Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, July 29th, for another story of faith and courage in America.