From the Pastor

Aug. 23, 2026

American Martyr: The Stanley Rother Story is a movie coming to the theaters next week. Fr. Stanley Rother was a priest from Oklahoma, who was ordained in 1963. In 1968, Rother requested to be sent to the missions in Guatemala, which his bishop allowed. He was very active and dearly beloved. In the 1970s, there were many repressions by the local armies against the Church. Fr. Rother was threatened, and he returned to the US to consult with his bishop about what he should do.
   
Eventually, he decided to return to Guatemala, presuming that at some point he would be killed.
The death threats continued, and in July 1981, three men broke into his home, and he was murdered. Fr. Rother is the only American priest who has been martyred.

On Sept. 23, 2017, Rother was beatified in Oklahoma City.

Because the movie about Fr. Rother is a religious film, it may not stay in the theaters for very long. Fathom Entertainment lists the viewing dates as Aug. 25, 26, and 27. Click the "Get Tickets" button below for times and theater locations.
    
My personal connection to Fr. Rother is that he attended Mount St. Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He is several years older than me, so I never met him. He graduated and was ordained in 1963, and I graduated and was ordained in 1980.
—Fr. Mike Comer