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Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine
The Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine is a Roman Catholic shrine dedicated to Stanley Rother, Oklahoma-born priest, missionary, and martyr. The shrine, which serves as a church, a museum, and a pilgrimage site, is located along I-35 on the south side of Oklahoma City, in the United States. In its first year of operation, the shrine saw roughly 120,000 pilgrims and visitors.[5] HistoryThe 53-acre property on which the shrine now stands was previously a 9-hole golf course, which was purchased by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City in 2016.[6] After Stanley Rother was beatified (declared "Blessed") in 2017,[7] the archdiocese began the process of designing and building a shrine in his honor on the property in southern Oklahoma City. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on November 3, 2019,[3] and construction truly began in April of 2020.[2] Work was led by Tony Yanda, senior director of operations with the project's general contractor, The Boldt Co.[2] Despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on construction,[8] completion of the project was only slightly delayed.[2][9] The dedication Mass was celebrated by Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul S. Coakley on February 17, 2023, with roughly 3,000 attendees from around the world.[10] In the week leading up to the dedication, the shrine hosted a variety of milestone events, including the transfer of the body of Stanley Rother from Oklahoma City's Resurrection Memorial Cemetery to the altar of the shrine's chapel.[11] Among attendees of the dedication week's events were dozens of bishops as well as members of the Rother family, including Stanley's sister, Marita Rother.[12] In its first year of operation, the shrine saw roughly 120,000 pilgrims and visitors.[5] Offerings and campus The shrine currently features a 35,000 sq. ft. church, which is the largest Catholic church in the state of Oklahoma.[2] The church was built in the spanish colonial style, inspired by the parish where Stanley Rother lived, served, and died in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala.[13] On the east side of the church is a smaller chapel, where the body of Rother rests within the altar.[13] The apse of the chapel features a mural, designed by EverGreene Studios of Brooklyn, N.Y.[13] The mural depicts Rother's arrival into heaven, where he is welcomed by Jesus Christ and a collection of other martyr-saints.[13]  In an adjacent building known as the Pilgrim Center, the shrine has a museum, dedicated to telling the story of Rother's life and legacy.[14] The museum was designed by Exhibit Concepts, who also designed the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial Museum, and includes many of Rother's belongings.[14] Continued construction and development is planned for the shrine, including a rectory and a two-story ministry building with classrooms and space for events.[2] Stanley RotherStanley Rother was an American Roman Catholic priest from Okarche, Oklahoma who was murdered in Guatemala in 1981, where he had served as a missionary priest since 1968. In 2016, Pope Francis confirmed that Rother had died a martyr, leading to Rother's beatification on September 23, 2017, in Oklahoma City. He is the first U.S.-born priest and martyr to be beatified by the Catholic Church, and is only the second person to be beatified on American soil.[15] See alsoReferences
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