Born in 1935 on a farm in Okarche, Oklahoma, Father Stanley Rother answered the call to missionary life and spent 13 years serving the indigenous Tz'utujil people of Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala. He learned their language, translated the New Testament, built schools and clinics and lived among them as their shepherd. 

As Guatemala's civil war brought violence to his village and his name appeared on a death list, but he refused to abandon his flock. "The shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger," he wrote. He was ultimately shot and killed in his rectory on July 28, 1981.  

In 2016, Pope Francis affirmed that Father Rother died a martyr, and he was beatified on September 23, 2017, in Oklahoma City before nearly 20,000 faithful. He is the first U.S.-born priest and martyr to receive the title "blessed"—the Church's official recognition of his heroic holiness and a declaration that he may be publicly venerated and invoked in prayer. One verified miracle through his intercession since his beatification is all that stands between Blessed Stanley and full canonization as a Saint.

For Blessed Stanley to be canonized as a saint, a miracle obtained through his intercession must be verified by the Church. Pray for the intercession of Blessed Stanley, and, trusting that God works through the prayers of many, let the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City know if you believe you have received a miracle or granted favor through the intercession of Blessed Stanley Rother HERE.