James Miller
American member of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (1944-1982)
Feast: 13 February (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
The Vatican record
- 7 November 2018 — Martyrdom recognised (decree list, 2018)
Who they were
James Alfred Miller was born on 21 September 1944 into a farming family near Stevens Point, Wisconsin, met the Brothers of the Christian Schools at Pacelli High School and entered their junior novitiate in 1959.
A teaching brother in Guatemala, on 13 February 1982, while repairing a wall outside the Indigenous Centre, he was shot dead; those who ordered the killing belonged to government circles. Pope Francis authorised the decree on his martyrdom. He was the first North American of his congregation raised to the altars.
The miracles
As a martyr, beatified without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A teaching brother from Wisconsin who died a martyr in Guatemala.
The cause
James Miller has been beatified; the cause continues. Favours received, and offers of help, go to the postulation, the office that carries the cause forward: The cause of Blessed James Miller.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: James Alfred Miller
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q6139760 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — James Miller (religious brother) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.