Father Stanley Rother was killed in the rectory of the parish of Saint James the Apostle in Santiago Atitlán: three men entered around 1 a.m. on July 28, 1981, fought with him and then executed him, according to the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine in Oklahoma City. The room where he died has since been turned into a chapel, his heart remains in the parish church at the request of the people of Santiago, and his body rests in the Oklahoma City shrine. The shrine’s and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City’s pages read on 10 November 2026 print no visiting hours for the Guatemalan church or chapel.
In short: In Santiago Atitlán there are two places tied to Rother, the parish church of Saint James the Apostle, where his heart is kept, and the rectory room where he was killed, now a chapel. His feast is July 28. The shrine and archdiocese pages read for this guide print no hours for the Santiago parish: plan the boat crossing to Santiago yourself and ask at the parish on arrival.
The places in Santiago Atitlán
| Place | What the church sources say |
|---|---|
| Saint James the Apostle Catholic Church | The shrine names it as Blessed Stanley’s church in Santiago Atitlán; the Oklahoma shrine church was designed in the Spanish mission style to mirror it |
| His heart | The people of Santiago asked that it be kept in Guatemala, where it remains enshrined (shrine); it “remains in the church at Santiago Atitlán” (Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, 2024) |
| Relic of his blood | Inside the parish church, in front of the altar (Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, 2019) |
| The rectory room | The room where he was killed is now a chapel (Coakley, 2019); a chapel for personal prayer (Father Herb Weber, 2021) |
Archbishop Coakley, writing after a July 2019 pilgrimage, said the room “has been transformed into a beautiful chapel that retains evidence of the violent act that once occurred there”: a bullet hole in the floor and blood stains on the wall, alongside flowers and objects that celebrate Rother’s life. Father Herb Weber, writing for Catholic News Service in a column the archdiocese republished in February 2021, described the small room where Father Stan had died as a chapel for personal prayer, where blood can still be seen on the floor.
What happened on July 28, 1981
The shrine’s biography sets out the sequence. During Guatemala’s civil war, Rother’s name appeared on a death list, and he returned to Oklahoma for his safety and that of his associate. He did not stay long, saying the shepherd cannot run, and went back to Santiago Atitlán. Within a few months, three men entered the rectory around 1 a.m. on July 28, 1981, and killed him. The shrine says no one was ever held responsible.
George Weigel, in a 2024 column published by the archdiocese, describes the attackers as three masked men and says Rother appears to have fought at close quarters to draw the killers away from the religious sisters living at the parish.
Who he was
Stanley Francis Rother was born on March 27, 1935, in Okarche, Oklahoma, and was ordained a priest on May 25, 1963. After five years as an associate pastor in Oklahoma, he joined the staff of the Oklahoma diocese’s mission in Santiago Atitlán, serving the Tz’utujil people. The shrine says he learned Spanish and Tz’utujil, celebrated Mass in their language, helped translate the New Testament, and used his farm upbringing to help with crops and an irrigation system. In Santiago he is remembered as Padre Apla’s, the name used in the archdiocese’s accounts.
From martyr to Blessed
| Date | Step, as the shrine and the Vatican record it |
|---|---|
| 2007 | Cause for canonization opened |
| June 2015 | The Vatican voted to formally recognize him as a martyr |
| December 1, 2016 | Pope Francis officially recognized him as a martyr for the faith |
| September 23, 2017 | Rite of Beatification in downtown Oklahoma City, attended by more than 20,000 people |
| September 24, 2017 | At the Angelus, Pope Francis said Rother was “killed in hatred of the faith for his evangelizing work and human advancement in favour of the poorest in Guatemala” |
The shrine describes him as the first martyr from the United States and the first U.S.-born priest to be beatified.
The feast day, July 28
His feast falls on July 28, the anniversary of his death. Archbishop Coakley’s 2019 account describes the feast in Santiago that year: a feast-day Mass, then a concert in the plaza in front of Saint James the Apostle by children of the parish school, Colegio Catolico Padre Apla’s. He writes that the archdiocese no longer sends priests to Guatemala but still sends material support each year. That is a description of 2019, not a published programme for future feasts.
Planning a visit from the United States
- Hours: the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine’s biography and home pages and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City’s articles on Rother print no opening hours for the Santiago Atitlán church or the rectory chapel (read 10 November 2026). Ask at the parish when you arrive.
- Do not use the Oklahoma hours: the shrine at 700 SE 89th St., Oklahoma City, lists its shrine, museum, gift shop and pilgrim center as open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, phone (405) 421-9800. Those hours apply to Oklahoma only.
- Getting to Santiago: boats cross from Panajachel and other lake towns. Fares, docks and crossing times are on our Panajachel to Santiago Atitlán boat page and the Lake Atitlán lancha routes.
- The rest of the town: Santiago’s other sacred site, Maximón, is kept by a cofradía in a house that changes; see Maximón in Santiago Atitlán. For the town’s textiles, see the Cojolya weaving museum, and for the other lake towns, the Lake Atitlán village guide.
Where to stay in Santiago Atitlan
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Sources
- Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, About Blessed Stanley Rother and home page (address, hours), read 10 November 2026.
- Archdiocese of Oklahoma City: Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, A study in contrasts: then and now (August 8, 2019); George Weigel, The Catholic Difference: Two who didn’t run (March 13, 2024); Father Herb Weber, Catholic News Service, Ash Wednesday: Learning from the saints (February 18, 2021); read 10 November 2026.
- Vatican, Pope Francis, Angelus, 24 September 2017, read 10 November 2026.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where in Santiago Atitlan was Blessed Stanley Rother killed, where is his heart kept, and what should a US pilgrim know before visiting?
He was killed in the rectory of the parish of Saint James the Apostle in Santiago Atitlán around 1 a.m. on July 28, 1981, according to the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine. The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City says the room is now a chapel and that his heart remains in the church at Santiago Atitlán; his body rests at the shrine in Oklahoma City. Neither prints visiting hours for the Guatemalan church or chapel on the pages read on 10 November 2026.
Is Stanley Rother buried in Guatemala?
No. A 2024 column published by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City says his body rests in the shrine on the south side of Oklahoma City, while his heart remains in the church at Santiago Atitlán at the request of the people he served.
When is Blessed Stanley Rother's feast day?
July 28, the date of his death. Archbishop Paul S. Coakley described attending the feast-day Mass and a concert in the plaza in front of Saint James the Apostle in Santiago Atitlán on July 28, 2019.
When was Stanley Rother beatified?
Pope Francis recognized him as a martyr on December 1, 2016, and the Rite of Beatification was held on September 23, 2017, in downtown Oklahoma City, according to the shrine. Pope Francis mentioned the beatification at the Angelus the next day.
What are the visiting hours of the Rother chapel in Santiago Atitlán?
The Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine’s biography and home pages and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City’s articles on Rother, read on 10 November 2026, print no hours for the church or the rectory chapel in Santiago Atitlán. The 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily hours on the shrine’s site are for the Oklahoma City shrine only.
