Slain Oklahoma priest’s sainthood cause proceeds to Rome
July 22, 2010
The Archdiocese of Oklahoma city has concluded the diocesan phase of the canonization cause of Father Stanley Rother (1935-81), a missionary slain in Guatemala. Father Rother translated the Bible into the Tzutuhil language and built a hospital.
“When the Servant of God, Father Stanley Rother, was brutally attacked, beaten, and shot dead, the natives of Santiago Atitlan and the Catholic people of Oklahoma were shocked and saddened,” Archbishop Eusebius Beltran preached in a July 20 homily. “But immediately the Tzutihil people enshrined his heart in the parish church because they believed Father Rother was a holy man. They believed he was a saint with God who would now be their intercessor … From that time on, people began to pray and popular devotion arose. In Okarche, Holy Trinity Church and cemetery have become pilgrim stops for people from Oklahoma and beyond.”
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Further information:
- Closing Mass, Cause for Canonization (Archdiocese of Oklahoma City)
- Cause for Beatification of Father Stanley Rother (Archdiocese of Oklahoma City)
- Stanley Rother (Wikipedia)
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Posted by: -
Jul. 22, 2010 6:01 PM ET USA
I have visited Santiago Atilan when I was living in Quetzeltenango studying Spanish for my ministry here in the USA and I have seen the shrine to Father Stanley where his heart is buried. People still come today leaving flowers and candles. It is as if he died just yesterday. It is a very touching and moving place; to see the love and fidelity of these people to their beloved Pastor who gave his life in the service of Christ.
