July 28th - Blessed Stanley Rother, Martyr

 

A shepherd never abandons his flock for fear of repercussions due to teaching the fullness of the truth. One shepherd who did not abandon his sheep, who fearlessly fed his flock by always preaching the truth with love was Blessed Fr. Stanley Rother.

Stanley Francis Rother born on March 27, 1935, in Okarche, was as one of four children. The family had a farm. His sister, Betty Mae, became a religious sister Adorer of the Blood of Christ. He had two brothers. He was baptized on March 29, 1935, in Okarche's Holy Trinity church.

Stanley was strong and adept at farm tasks. After completing his high school studies at the Holy Trinity school he declared his calling to the priesthood to his parents. His parents were pleased with their son's decision though his father asked him: "Why didn't you take Latin instead of working so hard as a Future Farmer of America?" He was sent to the Saint John Seminary and then to Assumption Seminary in San Antonio in Texas. Most of his classes back then were all in Latin, and he had great difficulty with Latin and so his grades suffered. After almost six years the seminary told him he could not continue. Though it was difficult news, he did not give up.

Stanley accompanied his father and the Okarche pastor to see Bishop Reed who asked him: "Do you want to be a priest, Stanley?" He replied: "Yes, but it's all over for me, isn't it?" Reed told him he saw potential in him and would send him to another seminary to see what became of it. The rector of Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Maryland eventually sent a letter to Bishop Reed on February 14, 1963 in which said: "Mr. Rother has made excellent progress at this seminary and he should be a very valuable parish priest”. Bishop Reed ordained him to the priesthood on May 25, 1963. Fr. Rother then served as an associate pastor in various parishes around Oklahoma including Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa.

He learned that a priest was needed in Guatemala, and so applied and was permitted by Bishop Reed in 1968. He was assigned to the mission of the archdiocese to the Tz’utujil people located in Santiago Atitlan in the rural highlands of southwest Guatemala.

So that he could be in closer touch with his congregation, he set out to work to learn Spanish and the Tz’utujil language which was an unwritten and indigenous language. Fr. Rother lived with a native family for a while to get a better grasp of practical conversation, and worked with the locals to show them how to read and write. He supported a radio station located on the mission property which transmitted daily lessons in both languages. In 1973 he noted with pride in a letter: "I am now preaching in Tz'utuhil.” During that time, in addition to his pastoral duties he translated the New Testamennt into Tz'utujil and began the regular celebration of the Mass in Tz'utujil. In the late 1960s Fr. Rother founded a small hospital.

He was a highly recognizable figure in the community, owing to his light complexion as well as his habit of smoking tobacco in a pipe. Since there was not a Tz'utujil name equivalent to "Stanley," the people of Father Rother's mission affectionately called him "Padre Apla's," translated as "Father Francis," a nod to his middle name.

Rother put his farming skills to good use in Guatemala, on one occasion operating a bulldozer from 7:00 am to 4:30 pm to clear land on local farms, stopping just for Mass. His door was open to all people. There was one old man who appeared each day for lunch, and others came for advice on personal or financial affairs. Some even turned up to have their teeth extracted. On one occasion he accompanied a boy to Guatemala City to be treated for lip cancer from which the boy was eventually cured.

Fr. Stanley even took action after a major earthquake in 1976. “With courage he climbed the ravines in order to help the very poor, pulling the wounded out of the ruins and carrying them to safety on his shoulders.”

From 1971 to 1981, there were numerous killings of journalists, farmers, catechists and priests, all accused falsely of communism. Within the last year of his life Rother saw the radio station smashed and its director murdered. His catechists and parishioners would disappear and later be found dead, with their bodies showing signs of having been beaten and tortured. Rother knew all this when he returned to Guatemala in May 1981. In December 1980 he had addressed a letter to the faithful in Oklahoma and wrote about the violent situation: "This is one of the reasons I have for staying in the face of physical harm. The shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger."

On the morning of July 28, just after midnight, gunmen broke into the rectory of his church and shot him twice in the head after a brief struggle. The killers forced the teenager Francisco Bocel (who was in the church at the time) to lead them to the bedroom of the "red-bearded Oklahoma-born missionary." The men threatened to kill Bocel if he did not show them Fr. Rother and so Bocel led them downstairs and knocked on a door near the staircase saying: "Father. They are looking for you." Fr. Rother opened the door and a struggle ensued as Bocel ran upstairs hearing Rother yell: "Kill me here!" One shot pierced his jaw and the fatal shot struck the left temple; there were bruises on both hands.

Father Rother was one of 10 priests murdered in Guatemala that year. His remains were flown back to Oklahoma and were buried in his hometown on August 3, 1981, in Holy Trinity Cemetery. At the request of his former Tz'utujil parishioners, his heart was removed and buried under the altar of the church where he had served in Guatemala.

On December 1, 2016 his beatification received approval from Pope Francis after the Pope confirmed that Rother had been killed “in hatred of the faith”. In the presence of 20,000 people, Fr. Stanley Rother was beatified, Sept. 23^rd, 2017, in Oklahoma City.