Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine Dedication Rescheduled For February

The dedication ceremony for the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine has been rescheduled to Feb. 17, 2023, according to a press release obtained from the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

The release said the dedication was originally scheduled for Nov. 4, but this move is to ensure all non-construction items are ready, and necessary staff members are in place for the shrine to open immediately following the dedication.

“I am thankful The Boldt Company and contractors will be meeting their deadlines this fall, giving us ample time to ensure the shrine, museum and pilgrim center will be open to the public the day of the dedication,” Archbishop Paul Coakley said in the release. “This is a once in a lifetime project and we want it to be ready to properly serve our Catholic community, especially our growing Hispanic population, and to welcome pilgrims from around the world on Day 1. It will be worth the wait!”

Despite the delay for the main building, the blessing of Tepeyac Hill on the northwest corner of the shrine campus to Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Juan Diego is still scheduled for Dec. 12, 2022.

According to the release, he shrine is named for Blessed Stanley Rother, an Okarche farmer who in 1963 became a priest of what was then the Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa and served as a missionary in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala.

In 1981, Father Stanley Francis Rother was murdered in his rectory during the Guatemalan Civil War. In 2016, Pope Francis declared him a martyr for the faith, the first recognized Catholic martyr from the United States. He was beatified in 2017 in Oklahoma City.