Stanley Rother
Encyclopedia
Stanley Francis Rother was a Catholic
priest and missionary
to Guatemala
. He was murder
ed by a death squad
, believed to be made up of right-wing extremists and elements of the Guatemalan Army
, on July 28, 1981.
a priest of the Diocese of Oklahoma City
- Tulsa
(now the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
) on May 25, 1963 by Bishop
Victor Reed. Rother served as an associate pastor
in various parishes around Oklahoma
before being assigned to the mission of Santiago Atitlán
in the rural highlands of southwest Guatemala, in 1968.
into the Tzutuhil language
and began the regular celebration of the liturgy
in that same tongue. Rother also founded a small hospital to serve the community, which was located in Panabaj
. The "Hospitalito" and the whole neighborhood of Panabaj were buried in the mudslides that followed Hurricane Stan
in October 2005. While residing in a temporary building, construction of a permanent facility began on November 10th, 2008 (Approx. 15°38'59.40"N 91°13'30.61"W). The "Hospitalito" re-opened during the dedication of the first floor on November 19th, 2010 and is still undergoing continued construction.
that his name was on a death list and that he should leave Guatemala. He returned to Oklahoma
in January 1981, but asked for permission to return. Rother went back to Santiago Atitlán in April. On the morning of July 28, gunmen broke into the rectory of his church and shot him twice in the head after a brief struggle. The killers forced a gardner to lead them to the bedroom of the "red-bearded Oklahoma-born missionary". He was one of 10 priests murdered in Guatemala that year.
. At the request of Tzutuhil parishioners, his heart was behind the church altar
.
Since his death, Archbishop
Eusebius J. Beltran
and other Catholics in Oklahoma and Guatemala consider Rother to be a martyr
for the faith
. The archdiocese has petitioned the Catholic Church to designate Rother as "fit for veneration
" (a step on the path to saint
hood). If canonized, Rother would be the first slain priest from Oklahoma to become a saint.
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
priest and missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
to Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. He was murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed by a death squad
Death squad
A death squad is an armed military, police, insurgent, or terrorist squad that conducts extrajudicial killings, assassinations, and forced disappearances of persons as part of a war, insurgency or terror campaign...
, believed to be made up of right-wing extremists and elements of the Guatemalan Army
Military of Guatemala
The Military of Guatemala consists of National Army of Guatemala , the Guatemalan Navy and the Guatemalan Air Force ....
, on July 28, 1981.
Ordination and early career
Stanley Francis Rother attended the seminary at Mount St. Mary's University and graduated in 1963. He was ordainedOrdination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
a priest of the Diocese of Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
- Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
(now the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the midwestern region of the United States. Its ecclesiastical territory includes 46 counties in western Oklahoma. The Most Reverend Paul Stagg Coakley is the current archbishop...
) on May 25, 1963 by Bishop
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
Victor Reed. Rother served as an associate pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
in various parishes around Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
before being assigned to the mission of Santiago Atitlán
Santiago Atitlán
Santiago Atitlán is a municipality in the Sololá department of Guatemala. The town is situated on Lago de Atitlán, which has an elevation of . The town sits on a bay of Lago Atitlan between two volcanos. Volcan San Pedro rises to west of town; Volcan Toliman rises to southeast of town. Volcan...
in the rural highlands of southwest Guatemala, in 1968.
Mission work in Guatemala
Rother served in Santiago Atitlán for 13 years. During that time, in addition to his pastoral duties, he translated the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
into the Tzutuhil language
Tz'utujil language
Tz'utujil is a Mayan language spoken by the Tz'utujil people in the region to the south of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala. Tz'utujil is closely related to its larger neighbors, Kaqchikel and K'iche'....
and began the regular celebration of the liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
in that same tongue. Rother also founded a small hospital to serve the community, which was located in Panabaj
Panabaj
Panabaj, located on the edge of Lake Atitlán in the western highlands of Guatemala, is a small village within the municipality of Santiago Atitlán, bordering the city of Santiago Atitlán proper, in the department of Sololá...
. The "Hospitalito" and the whole neighborhood of Panabaj were buried in the mudslides that followed Hurricane Stan
Hurricane Stan
Hurricane Stan was the eighteenth named tropical storm and eleventh hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the sixth of seven tropical cyclones to make landfall in Mexico. Stan was a relatively weak storm that only briefly reached hurricane status...
in October 2005. While residing in a temporary building, construction of a permanent facility began on November 10th, 2008 (Approx. 15°38'59.40"N 91°13'30.61"W). The "Hospitalito" re-opened during the dedication of the first floor on November 19th, 2010 and is still undergoing continued construction.
Death threat and murder
In early 1981 Rother was warnedDeath threat
A death threat is a threat of death, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or groups of people. These threats are usually designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behavior, thus a death threat is a form of coercion...
that his name was on a death list and that he should leave Guatemala. He returned to Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
in January 1981, but asked for permission to return. Rother went back to Santiago Atitlán in April. On the morning of July 28, gunmen broke into the rectory of his church and shot him twice in the head after a brief struggle. The killers forced a gardner to lead them to the bedroom of the "red-bearded Oklahoma-born missionary". He was one of 10 priests murdered in Guatemala that year.
Burial and veneration
Rother was flown back to Oklahoma City and was buried in his home town of Okarche, OklahomaOkarche, Oklahoma
Okarche is a town in Canadian and Kingfisher counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. The population was 1,110 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. At the request of Tzutuhil parishioners, his heart was behind the church altar
Altar (Catholicism)
In the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, the altar is where the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered. Mass may sometimes be celebrated outside a sacred place, but never without an altar, or at least an altar stone.-Precedent:...
.
Since his death, Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Eusebius J. Beltran
Eusebius J. Beltran
Eusebius Joseph Beltran is an American prelate. He was the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City from 1993 until 2010. Before his appointment to Oklahoma City, Beltran was bishop of the Diocese of Tulsa from 1978 to 1992....
and other Catholics in Oklahoma and Guatemala consider Rother to be a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
for the faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
. The archdiocese has petitioned the Catholic Church to designate Rother as "fit for veneration
Veneration
Veneration , or veneration of saints, is a special act of honoring a saint: an angel, or a dead person who has been identified by a church committee as singular in the traditions of the religion. It is practiced by the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic, and Eastern Catholic Churches...
" (a step on the path to saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
hood). If canonized, Rother would be the first slain priest from Oklahoma to become a saint.
Sources
- http://www.catharchdioceseokc.org/Archdiocese of Oklahoma City Archdiocese of Oklahoma CityRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma CityThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the midwestern region of the United States. Its ecclesiastical territory includes 46 counties in western Oklahoma. The Most Reverend Paul Stagg Coakley is the current archbishop...
] Retrieved: 2010-05-13. - http://www.catharchdioceseokc.org/history/Murder.htmFather Stanley Rother Oklahoma Missionary Murdered in Guatemala Archdiocese of Oklahoma CityRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma CityThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the midwestern region of the United States. Its ecclesiastical territory includes 46 counties in western Oklahoma. The Most Reverend Paul Stagg Coakley is the current archbishop...
] Retrieved: 2010-05-13. - http://www.catharchdioceseokc.org/history/rotherindex.htmCause for Beatification of Father Stanley Rother Archdiocese of Oklahoma CityRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma CityThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the midwestern region of the United States. Its ecclesiastical territory includes 46 counties in western Oklahoma. The Most Reverend Paul Stagg Coakley is the current archbishop...
] Retrieved: 2010-05-13.
External links
- Homily (Eulogy) on Father Rother
- CRY FROM GUATEMALA; Following are excerpts from a letter ... NY Times Author:Stanley Rother August 15, 1981. Retrieved: 2010-05-12.