Stanley Rother entered Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, Tex., but had difficulties with theology studies, which were taught in Latin. He was action- and service-oriented and developed a love for the Hispanic culture. A private conversation with his bishop resulted in a transfer to another seminary. He completed his studies at Mount Saint Mary’s in Maryland and went on to become a parish priest in Tulsa at Holy Family and St. Francis Xavier. There the bishop recognized Father Rother’s exceptional abilities for building and fixing things and assigned him to build a diocesan retreat center at Lake Texoma in southern Oklahoma. There he also became friends with numerous members of local Native American tribes, especially the Choctaw and Cherokee.
In 1960, when Pope John XXIII directed U.S. parishes to assist Catholics in Latin America, the Catholic Church in Oklahoma adopted a sister diocese in Guatemala as part of PAVLA (Papal Volunteers for Latin America). They would assist the Indigenous people there, who were descendants of the ancient Mayans. Father Rother joined the mission in 1968, driving 2,000 miles from Oklahoma to get there. Along with pastoral duties, there was a great deal of physical work to be done; Father Rother’s farming background and experience at Lake Texoma had prepared him for the challenge. Father Rother helped start a radio station with the help of another priest, the Rev. Tom Stafford, that was licensed in the name of the local tribe, the Tz’utujil. Its focus was on literacy. Father Rother also helped translate the New Testament into Tz’utujil.
Over the years, Father Rother helped to install an irrigation system, introduced wheat and soybean crops, discouraged chemical pesticides and brought in tractors, which he repaired himself. He worked side by side with some of his parishioners on the mission farm.
In the 1980s, Guatemala was in the throes of a civil war, which essentially pitted the rich and powerful against the poor. Anyone who stood with the poor was seen as a threat to the government. As detailed in The Shepherd Who Didn’t Run, by María Ruiz Scapelanda, Father Rother wrote in a letter, “Guatemala is systematically doing away with all liberal[s] or even moderates in government, [as well as] the labor leaders and apparently there are lots of kidnappings that never get in the papers.”
Death lists became something common to talk about, as normal as discussing the standings of favorite sports teams. For Catholic catechists, priests and volunteers who worked with the Mayans, the question was not “if” but “when” they, too, would be listed. Father Rother was warned of the dangers if he stayed in Guatemala, and at first he decided to return to Oklahoma. He went back to Guatemala, however, to be with his parishioners. Father Rother said to his brother Tom, “A shepherd cannot run from his flock.” It was true, though: Standing with the poor also meant being as much of a target for government death squads as the rest of the Indigenous population. At 1:30 a.m., on July 28, 1981, three masked men broke into his rectory, found Father Rother, and shot him dead. He was 46.
On Dec. 1, 2016, Pope Francis beatified Father Rother, making him the first U.S.-born martyr to be beatified by the Catholic Church. Ground has been broken for a shrine in his honor in Oklahoma City. It will include a church to seat nearly 2,000 worshippers, a pilgrim center with a museum, an event hall, a range of classrooms and extensively landscaped grounds. The shrine will be a testament to what can happen when one trusts completely in God. He is remembered on July 28.