Padre Apla's Youth Center: Continuing Fr. Stanley Rother's Legacy

Named in honor of Fr. Stanley Rother, affectionately known as Padre Apla's, the new youth center carries on his legacy of serving the young people of Guatemala.

After years of planning and many months of hard work, the construction of the Padre Apla's Youth Center in Guatemala is complete! The center is now being used by the students of the Gift of Hope program for after-school tutoring and activities and for Saturday catechism classes. There is ample space for the students to study and play. This expansion will also give us the opportunity to welcome even more children in need into the program.

The center is named for Blessed Stanley Rother, a US missionary priest to Guatemala who was called by his local name, Padre Apla's. He was dearly loved by the people of Santiago Atitlan, where he poured himself out in service and eventually gave his life as a martyr in 1981. 

The dedication of the new center took place on June 16. Present at the dedication were the children of the Gift of Hope program and their families, our program coordinator Florinda, Juan Chiroy from Caritas (our partner organization), the Hennemann family, and mission trip participants from Fr. Stanley Rother's home diocese in Oklahoma.

We are grateful to God, our faithful supporters, and our team in Guatemala for bringing this project to fruition. We pray that this center will be a place of hope for students from impoverished families as they work to break the cycle of poverty through education. 

Click here to learn more about our life-changing work in Guatemala and our child sponsorship program.