September 10, 2023 - "Blessed Stanley Rother"

I am continuing this series on Saints and Blesseds of the United States.  This week I am featuring Blessed Stanley Francis Rother (1935-81) who has a special connection with my family.  More on that below.  Much of the material that I am presenting is taken from the website of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, his home diocese.  Another useful source for this brief portrait of Blessed Stanley is an interview with his sister in the National Catholic Register.
 
Stanley Francis Rother was born on March 27, 1935, to Franz and Gertrude Rother.  He was the oldest of their four children and grew up on a farm where he worked hard doing his required chores, attending school, playing sports, serving as an altar server, and enjoying the various activities associated with growing up in a small town.
 
His younger sister Betty Mae who became Sister Marita when she entered the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, remembers her brother Stanley as someone who showed leadership qualities.  Stanley was a class officer at their parish school, he managed a sport program, and served as president of the Future Farmers of America.  Sister Marita remembers her brother being a very responsible person.
 
When Stanley graduated from high school, he told his family that he wanted to be a priest.  He began seminary in San Antonio, Texas.  Unfortunately, he struggled academically at that seminary because he had not studied Latin in high school.  When the seminary dismissed him, Stanley appealed to Bishop Victor Reed, the diocesan bishop in Oklahoma at the time,  for another chance.  Bishop Reed asked Father Joseph Dillon, a priest of the diocese at the time and a first cousin of my father, if he would meet with Stanley over the summer and let the bishop know if the vocation was salvageable.  Father Joseph met with Stanley over the summer and recommended that he be sent to another seminary.  On the strength of my cousin’s recommendation Bishop Reed arranged for Stanley to attend Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.  He was successful in his studies at Mount St. Mary’s and was ordained a priest on May 25, 1963.  He then served five years as an associate pastor in Oklahoma.
 
He sought and received permission to join the staff at the Oklahoma diocese’s mission in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala.  He served the native tribe of Tz’utujil, who are descendants of the Mayans.  Although Stanley had struggled with Latin earlier in his life, he learned Spanish and the Tz’utujil language in Guatemala.  He celebrated Mass in their language and helped translate the New Testament into their language.
 
Father Rother was surrounded by extreme poverty among the Tz’utujil, who lived in one room huts and grew what they could on their small plots of land.  He ministered to his parishioners in their homes, eating with them, visiting the sick, and assisting them with medical issues.  He put his farming skills to use by helping them in the fields, bringing in different crops, and building an irrigation system.
 
While he served in Guatemala, a civil war raged between a U.S. backed militarist government and guerrilla forces.  The Catholic Church was caught in the middle due to its insistence on catechizing and educating the people.  During this conflict, thousands of Catholics were killed.  In time he learned that his name had been entered onto a death list. 
 
He was asked to come back to the U.S. for his own safety, which he did with reluctance.  After a short time at home, he asked for permission to return, stating that in the time of danger the shepherd could not run.  Having received the permission, Stanley returned to Santiago Atitlan to continue the work of the mission.
 
Within a few months, three men entered the rectory around 1:00 a.m. on July 28, 1981, fought with Father Rother, and then murdered him.  His death shocked the Catholic world.  His parents were both alive at the time of his death.  Sr. Marita remembers that her father was stronger in coping with the news of the murder of Father Rother.  She doesn’t think that her mother ever got over it and died a few years after the death of her son.  No one was ever held responsible for his murder.  The people of Santiago Atitlan mourned the loss of their leader and friend.  They requested that his heart be kept in Guatemala where it remains today.
 
In 2007, his cause for Canonization was opened.  In June 2015, the Vatican voted to recognize formally Father Stanley Rother as a martyr.  The rite of beatification was held on September 23, 2017, in downtown Oklahoma City—an event attended by more than 20,000 people from around the world—including my cousin Joseph Dillon.  Blessed Stanley Rother is the first U.S.-born priest to be declared a martyr and to be beatified.
 
When Sr. Marita was asked her thoughts on her brother’s beatification, she said that she was grateful to the Church for recognizing him.  She was proud of him for not giving up, meeting his daily challenges, and trusting in God’s promise to give him eternal life.  She said that brother Stanley lived simply, gave his best, and was confident that he heard the Lord say to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
 
Until next week,
Father John