Presidential Message on the 45th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Father Stanley Rother

The White House releases the following statement by the President of the United States of America Donald J. Trump:

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.

Born in the heart of Oklahoma in 1935, Father Rother was ordained a Roman Catholic priest at the age of 28. Instilled with a proud Oklahoma work ethic of faith, discipline, duty, and sacrifice, upon his ordination, he adopted as his motto the words of the legendary Saint Augustine: “For my benefit I am a Christian, for the benefit of others I am a priest.” Until his very last breath, these are the words that would animate his life and priestly ministry.

In 1968, just years after his ordination, Father Rother answered God’s call to missionary life, departing the United States for the war-torn highlands of Guatemala, then ravaged by conflict. 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—fearlessly embodying Christ’s commission to “make disciples of all nations.”