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The place nearest to Father Rother's Heart- Santiago Atitlan

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The place nearest to Father Rother's Heart- Santiago Atitlan

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Although Santiago was a place full of hardship, with malnutrition, polluted water, a high infant mortality rate, and many diseases, Father Rother soon fell in love with its people (Beecroft). It is located between two volcanoes on the Southwest corner of Lake Atitlan, and it now has 70,000 inhabitants (Sneller). When Rother first arrived, Santiago Atitlan was a town of 28,000 people, and Father Rother was their first priest in 100 years. When he arrived, its people were practicing a mix of Mayan and Catholic faith.

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Blessed Stanley Rother began life as an ordinary small town youth. He was born in Okarche, Oklahoma on March 27, 1935 on a farm in the middle of the infamous dust storm that plagued the Great Plains area during this time (Scaperlanda). He went to school in Okarche and was active in many activities, including being a star athlete and serving as President of his local FFA chapter (Scaperlanda). He sensed the call to priesthood during his high school years and began seminary studies at Assumption Seminary in San Antonio Texas in 1955 (About Stanley Rother).

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Due to not studying Latin in high school, Stanley struggled with the academic side of seminary life. Additionally, he sometimes devoted more energy to meeting the physical needs of the seminary, where he often volunteered to work in the school's fields and gardens, than to his studies. Due to these factors, he was asked to leave three years after starting and was discouraged from the priesthood (About Blessed Stanley Rother). Still, he persisted and was given a second chance after receiving tutoring at the request of the Oklahoma City/Tulsa bishop. He was assigned to Mt. Saint Mary's Seminary and was ordained on May 25, 1963 (About Blessed Stanley Rother).

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Propaedeutic Stage at the Mount | Mount St. Mary’s University

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Stanley served five years at various Oklahoma City/Tulsa area churches, but he found himself wanting to do something other than stay in his home state. He got that chance when he was invited to serve as a missionary priest in Guatemala, along with eleven other Oklahoma missionaries (Scaperlanda). They were sent to Santiago Atitlan. There, they started a hospital clinic, Farmers Co-op, and a Catholic radio station (Scaperlanda).

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Father Rother was deeply moved by the needs and spirit of the people he was sent to serve. As one who grew up on a farm, he was able to help his parishioners both physically and spiritually. He helped them farm, clear the land, gave them vaccines, and pulled their teeth. Additionally, he became fluent in both Spanish and their native language of Tzutuhil (Beecroft). This is especially impressive considering the fact that he struggled with learning Latin while in seminary.

Not only did he help them physically, but he fed their minds and hearts as well. He translated the biblical Gospels and Mass prayers into their native language and provided training in the Catholic faith through his lessons that were broadcast on the Catholic Radio station he helped establish. Additionally, he taught his parishioners how to read and write in their native language (Beecroft).

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His impact on His people and Santiago Atitlan

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His impact on His people and Santiago Atitlan

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Father Rother was dearly loved and respected. While he served his mission, he celebrated five masses every Sunday and performed hundreds of baptisms yearly (Marcum). Since his death, there has been a strong increase in vocations in his former parish (Rezac), and according to CNA Daily News, the parish is active, organized, vibrant, and full of people willing and wishing to serve God. Additionally, modern mission groups like a lay Catholic nonprofit called Unbound, which serves individuals in his former parish, have been influenced by his people-first leadership style. Instead of acting like they know better than the people that they serve, they listen to their people and walk with them (Rezac).

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Father Rother's burial mass and a shrine built in his honor

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Father Rother's burial mass and a shrine built in his honor

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Rother's first burial mass was held one day after his murder on July 29, 1981. 2,500 people filled the church and thousands more gathered outside (Beecroft). His remains were then sent to his childhood home, all except for his heart, which was buried in the floor of his church's sanctuary (Pischel). Due to instability of the region, three years passed before the area was sent another priest, who was named Father John Vesey. While he was there, Father Vesey built a chapel in his honor. Though he wasn't declared Blessed Stanley Rother until many years later, the people who were in his parish treated him like one immediately, coming to him with daily requests of intercession (Brett).

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Beatification and a shrine built in his honor

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Beatification and a shrine built in his honor

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Though members of his Santiago Atitlan parish saw him as a saint immediately following his death, it took the Church a bit longer to recognize his martyrdom. This occurred though, in 2017 when Pope Francis declared him blessed and the first martyr that was born in the United States (About Stanley Rother). The rite was performed in downtown Oklahoma City on September 23, 2017 and over 20,000 people attended. A few years later, on Feb 17th, 2023, a shrine was erected in nearby Moore, and as of February 2024, over 120,000 pilgrims have visited it (About Stanley Rother).

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When Father Rother arrived in Santiago Atitlan in 1968, the political situation was unsteady, but not yet dangerous. This changed ten years later when Fernando Garcia was elected President of Guatemala. He and his US backed government waged war on militias that challenged the extreme right-wing government. These militias were primarily made up of poverty-stricken Guatemalans. Since Catholic missionary priests served many of these challengers of government authority, the Guatemalan government considered the Catholic Church to be part of the revolution and viewed their priests as a threat (Beecroft). By the beginning of the 1980's about 3000 Guatemalans were being murdered every month, and by January 1981, thirty of Rother's parishioners had either been murdered or kidnapped (Brett).

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Threats to Father Rother's life and brief move back to the US

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Threats to Father Rother's life and brief move back to the US

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Father Stanley Rother began serving the people of Santiago Atitlan in 1968, but life there had become very dangerous by 1980. In 1980, he discovered he had been placed on a right-wing list for assassination. This caused his colleagues and friends to fear for his life and try to persuade him to return to Oklahoma. In response, he at first denied the request and declared "The shepherd can not run at the first sign of danger" (Beecroft).

Still, he eventually reluctantly returned to Oklahoma in January 1981, but he begged to go back to Guatemala shortly after. His request was granted, and he resumed his work in the mission in April 1981 (Beecroft).

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Rother returned to Santiago Atitlan fully realizing the danger of his choice. A priest in his confidence shared that he slept every night with his shoes on, ready to meet death. (Henneman). On July 28, 1981 the unthinkable occurred when three assassins came into his room to kill him. In response, Father Rother replied, "Kill me here," and he was shot two times in the head (Beecroft).

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Tjhis is his church