Brother James was only 37 when he was shot and killed as he was mending a wall outside of a school where he worked in Huehuetenango, Guatemala in 1982. He was approached by three men, who shot him several times before fleeing; and they were never brought to justice. It is suspected that Brother James was killed because he and the other Brothers fought to keep their young students from being forced into the military.

Pope Francis recognized the martyrdom of Brother James Miller, FSC, on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. The Vatican announced that Pope Francis approved a decree recognizing Brother James died as a martyr. Brother James will be the first De La Salle Christian Brother from the United States to be beatified. His beautification was held in 2019 in Guatemala.

As a martyr, Brother James must have one miracle posthumously attributed to him to reach the next (and final) level toward official sainthood, which is canonization.

A native of Stevens Point, Wis., Brother James received his undergraduate degree in 1966 and his graduate degree in 1974 from Saint Mary’s. He taught at Cretin High School, now Cretin-Derham Hall, in Saint Paul, Minn., for several years before going to Nicaragua and eventually Guatemala, where he taught job and leadership skills to the young indigenous people.

At the Casa Indigena school in Guatemala, Brother James taught English, religion, and Guatemalan art to secondary level students. Aware of the oppression of the indigenous people of Guatemala and their need to be trained in job skills and leadership skills, he helped begin an experimental farm where indigenous students learned agricultural methods and improvements. More importantly, he prepared native leaders for rural areas who would work for collective development in their villages.