Stanley Rother was an American Catholic priest and missionary who dedicated his life to serving the indigenous Tz'utujil people in Guatemala. Born in Oklahoma in 1935, he served several parishes in his home state before requesting a mission assignment in the impoverished region of Santiago Atitlán in 1968. During the Guatemalan Civil War, he provided essential medical, educational, and spiritual support to his community. He was killed by death squads in 1981, an act recognized by the Catholic Church as martyrdom.