On July 28th each year, we honor Blessed Stanley Rother. He was a priest from Okarche who served the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa.  Father Rother was ordained in 1968. Five years later, he received the call to serve in the Oklahoma mission in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala. He was assigned there in 1968.

"Through the years, Father Rother learned the local dialect, served the people with devotion, and was deeply loved by the parishioners. Blessed Stanley Rother helped build a hospital, a school, and a Catholic radio station for the indigenous Mayan people. He helped translate the New Testament into the native Tz’utujil language and celebrated Mass in that native tongue. Known as Padre A’Plas (Francis, his middle name), Fr. Stanley was beloved by the Mayan people he served.

Political unrest swept the country in the 1970's and in 1980 four priests were killed in Guatemala. Fr. Stanley discovered that his name appeared on a death list in 1981.

When the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City learned that Fr. Stanley’s name was on a death list, they ordered him home. He protested; he couldn’t just leave his flock during a time when they could be kidnapped and murdered at will. “This is one of the reasons I have for staying in the face of physical harm,” he wrote. “The shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger.”

Despite his desire not to abandon the people of Santiago Atitlán, Fr. Stanley was obedient and returned to Oklahoma City in January of 1981. His heart, however, never left Guatemala, and after receiving permission to celebrate Easter with his flock, Fr. Stanley returned to Guatemala in April. On July 28, 1981, assassins entered the parish rectory and killed Fr. Stanley. His heart is buried in the church in Guatemala and his body is buried at the Shrine of Blessed Stanley Rother in Oklahoma City. " (the portion in quotations is taken from an article by Loyola Press, located here: https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/saints/saints-stories-for-all-ages/stanley-rother/)

Father Rother was formally recognized by Pope Francis as a martyr on December 2, 2016. He was Beatified in Oklahoma City by Cardinal Amato on behalf of Pope Francis on September 23, 2017.

O God, fount of all holiness,
make us each walk worthily in our vocation,
through the intercession of your Saints,
on whom you bestowed a great variety of graces on earth.
Having graced your Church with the life of
your priest and martyr, Blessed Stanley Rother,
grant that by his intercession this humble flock may reach
where the brave shepherd has gone.
Grant that your Church may proclaim him a saint
living in your presence and interceding for us.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The icon at the top of this page is in our Chapel. You can light a candle there and ask for Father Rother's intercession any hour of the day. This beautiful icon was written by our parishioner, Beverly Layton (Deacon Tony's wife).