Stanley Rother

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Stanley Francis Rother (born March 27, 1935 in Okarche , Oklahoma , † July 28, 1981 in Santiago Atitlán ) was an American Catholic priest and missionary in Guatemala . He was executed by a murder squad alleged to have consisted of right-wing extremist terrorists and Guatemalan military. The Roman Catholic Church venerates him as a blessed .

Youth and education

Rother was born on March 27, 1936 as the son of Franz and Gertrude Rother on their farm near Okarche in Oklahoma. There he developed into a strong young man and successful farmer. However, after graduating from high school, he decided to become a priest. In preparation for this he was posted to the Assumption Seminary in San Antonio , Texas . There the skills he had acquired on his parents' farm were so in demand that his studies suffered from his many obligations. Therefore, after almost six years, he was advised to leave the seminary.

On the advice of his Bishop Victor Reed, Rother then attended Mount St. Mary's seminary in Emmitsburg , Maryland , and completed his training there in 1963. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Oklahoma City-Tulsa (now the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City) by Reed on May 25 of the same year and served in various parishes around Oklahoma as an auxiliary chaplain . At his own request, he was called in 1968 to the mission of the Archdiocese of Tz'utujil to Santiago Atitlán in the rural plateaus in southwestern Guatemala.

Missionary work in Guatemala

Rother began to study Spanish and Tzutuhil to better connect with his community. Tzutuhil is an indigenous language without writing that had already been described by a previous missionary, Ramón Carlín. Rother lived temporarily with a native family in order to gain a better understanding of the language. He also gave the residents religious instruction and taught them to read and write. He supported the radio station on the mission site, which broadcasted daily lessons in languages ​​and maths. During the 13 years of his ministry in Santiago Atitlán, in addition to his pastoral duties, he translated the New Testament into the Tzutuhil language, as well as the rite of Mass.

Rother founded a small hospital in Panabaj for the community. This Hospitalito and the Panabaj neighborhood were buried by mudslides as a result of Hurricane Stan in October 2005. The hospital was then housed in a temporary building; construction work for a permanent facility began on November 10, 2008. The Hospitalito was reopened on November 19, 2010 with the inauguration of the first floor. It plays a vital role in community health today.

In the last year of his life, Rother had to see the radio station destroyed and its leader killed. Some of his catechists and parishioners disappeared and were later found tortured, beaten, and murdered. Rother knew about these incidents when he returned to Guatemala in May 1981.

Death threats and assassination

In early 1981 Rother received news that his name was on a death list and that it would be better for him to leave Guatemala. He returned to Oklahoma in January 1981, but requested permission to return to Guatemala. Rother returned to Santiago Atitlán in April. On the morning of July 28th, several armed men broke into the rectory of his church and shot him twice in the head after a brief tussle. The killers forced a gardener to lead them into the bedroom of the "red-bearded Oklahoma missionary." He was one of 10 priests who were murdered in Guatemala that year.

Burial and worship

Memorial stone for Stanley Rother in Santiago Atitlán with the scripture Joh 15,13  EU

Rother's body was returned to Oklahoma City by air and buried in his hometown of Okarche. At the request of former Tzutuhil parishioners, his heart was removed and buried under the altar of his former church.

Since Rothers death, the Catholics of Oklahoma and Guatemala, led by Archbishop of Oklahoma City Eusebius J. Beltran, have recognized him as a martyr for the Catholic faith. His case was accepted in Rome and received the title of Venerable Servant of God .

beatification

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints officially recognized Stanley Rother as a martyr on June 23, 2015 - an essential step on the way to beatification . On December 2, 2016, Pope Francis signed the decree confirming his martyrdom. On September 23, 2017 Stanley Rother was born during a St. Mass at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City beatified by Cardinal Angelo Amato SDB.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.archokc.org/cause-for-beatification-of-father-stanley-rother/about-father-rother/7177-deep-down-he-was-always-an-oklahoma-farm-boy
  2. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from July 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hospitalitoatitlan.org
  3. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/05/world/around-the-world-3-seized-in-guatemala-in-slaying-of-us-priest.html?n=Top%2FNews % 2FWorld% 2FCountries + and + Territories% 2FGuatemala . New York Times. 5th August 1981.
  4. ↑ http://www.archokc.org/top-news/5490-vatican-commission-approves-martyrdom-in-the-cause-for-oklahomas-servant-of-god-father-stanley-rother
  5. ↑ Oklahoma priest's beatification draws thousands , accessed September 26, 2017.
personal data
SURNAME Rother, Stanley
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rother, Stanley Francis (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Catholic priest and missionary in Guatemala
DATE OF BIRTH March 27, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Okarche , Oklahoma
DATE OF DEATH July 28, 1981
Place of death Santiago Atitlan