ȺpÎÞÂë

The Brother James Miller, FSC Chapel was dedicated on February 15, 2017 as part of ȺpÎÞÂë’s commemoration of the 35th Anniversary of Brother James’ death and his life as a De La Salle Christian Brother committed to the poor of Central America.

This sacred space is made possible through a generous gift from Patty and Phil Dion to ȺpÎÞÂë in honor of Brother Philip Johnson, FSC, a classmate and friend of Brother James.

He taught there until he was assigned to Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua in 1974, where he helped build an industrial arts/vocational complex and supervised the construction of ten new rural schools. His religious superiors ordered him to leave Nicaragua in July 1979 during the time of the Sandinista revolution. It was feared that since he worked for the Somoza government, he might be at risk. For that reason, he returned to the United States in 1979. In 1981, Brother James was sent to Guatemala, where he taught and worked with the young indigenous Mayans.

On February 13, 1982, while outside repairing a wall of the Casa Indigena De L a Salle, he was brutally shot by several armed men and died instantly. Attempts to identify the assassins were unsuccessful. 

In 2009, the Diocese of Huehuetenango, Guatemala initiated the process for Brother James Miller’s canonization by declaring him a martyr.  The Vatican recognized the validity of his cause and in 2010 Brother James was designated a “Servant of God and martyr for the faith” and began the process of beatification.  Because Brother James is considered a martyr, a miracle was not required for his beatification; consequently, on December 7, 2019, he was beatified in a ceremony in Huehuetenango. A miracle will be needed, however, for Blessed Brother James Miller to be declared a saint in the Church.