The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. Our church has a long history of women and men who faced persecution and gave their lives for the gospel they preached. In the Americas, the first missionaries to North America faced martyrdom. French Jesuits, Isaac Jogues, John deBrebuff and companions gave their lives for their faith. In more recent times, Americans themselves have faced death throughout the world, as they remained faithful to their calling to preach and live the gospel message.
              
This room remembers all those martyrs with special focus on the four United States Church women: Ita Ford, Jean Donovan, Maura Clark, and Dorothy Kazel, Father Stanley Rother of the Diocese of Oklahoma City, and Archbishop Oscar Romero as they sided with the poor and suffered martyrdom in Central America between 1980-1981.