The shrine for Okarche’s native son, The Blessed Stanley Rother, and the location where the Catholic martyr’s final resting place is planned, is now under construction in southeast Oklahoma City.
“It’s a monumental event for the Archdiocese and actually for Oklahoma. Once the shrine is completed it will be the largest Catholic church in the state of Oklahoma,” said Miguel Mireles, associate development director for the shrine.
“It will have approximately 1,900-plus seats for folks to come and learn about Blessed Stanley Rother, worship and hopefully spread the good news to all the people not just here in Oklahoma but beyond,” Mireles said.
Rother was shot to death in his own church in Atitlan, Guatemala on July 28, 1981 where he served the poor during a time of political unrest. He was beatified by the Catholic Church in 2018, placing him one step closer to canonization as a saint.
“We celebrate the life of Blessed Stanley Rother, who is our own, from Okarche, Oklahoma. One of our brother priests from here who went and gave his life for the Lord. And this will be his final resting place to be able to share his story and vision and the good he did for our world,” Mireles said on the day concrete was poured.
On the grounds of the former Brookside Golf Course, just west of Interstate 35, a mound of dirt on the horizon west of the church being built will soon be a place of meditation with a walking trail to the top of it.
Workers started to pour concrete for the church on Thursday, Oct. 22.
“It is the first part of the building to be laid with the steel structure and other milestones happening in the coming weeks,” said Diane Clay, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
The shrine grounds will also have hundreds of new trees.
A 24-foot-tall “Tepeyac Hill” is rising on the west end of the property near ponds and walking trails being built.
The Tepeyac Hill has religious significance, Mireles said, because it honors Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“It is similar to one that is down in Mexico City that is dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. We will have a walking trail that goes up to the top. And at the top we will have a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe where people can come and have some meditation time, some silent time and a place for prayer and to ask prayers from Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The area of southeast Oklahoma City has many Hispanic Catholics, he said.
“We feel this is important to our shrine site because of the fact this is going to impact our heavily Catholic community who have a great fondness for Our Lady, who will come and hear about Our Lady and also Blessed Stanley Rother,” Mireles said.
On Sept. 23, 2017, Rother became the first Catholic martyr for the United States.
Pope Francis issued a decree confirming Rother was to be beatified by the Catholic Church due to the nature and cause of his shooting death during a civil war.
Rother was originally buried near Okarche in the Holy Trinity Cemetery in the area where he grew up. Today, he is buried at Resurrection Cemetery in Oklahoma City.
Tony Yanda, Senior Director of The Boldt Company, the construction firm building the shrine, showed the area where Blessed Stanley Rother will be buried when work is completed near a chapel.
“Right there where you see the open dirt is actually where the Blessed Stanley will lay in his final resting place,” Yanda said.
Yanda said the work is on schedule to open in July, 2022.
Yanda said it is important for people who visit the site to hear the story of Blessed Stanley Rother. “There are Catholics who work out here who didn’t know his story,” Yanda said.
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