Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine

In February 2023, the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City dedicated a shrine to Blessed Stanley Rother, the Okarche-born priest killed in Guatemala in 1981 and the first U.S.-born martyr recognized by the Catholic Church. These photographs follow the week of the dedication, from the vigil as Rother’s remains were brought to their final resting place to the Mass that filled the new church, now the largest Catholic church in Oklahoma.

Altar servers carrying a processional cross and censer lead clergy in procession at the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine
Processional cross raised beside a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Matachines dancers in feathered headdresses and beaded veils waiting to dance
Priests in vestments gathered outdoors during the dedication
Rows of Matachines dancers in feathered headdresses performing at the shrine
Bishop raising his hand in blessing in front of the shrine’s bell towers
Clergy in white vestments walking toward the shrine’s domes and bell towers
Statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe set among the rocks of Tepeyac Hill
Bishop reading a prayer beside altar servers among the rocks
Altar server carrying a processional cross past the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Matachines dancers in headdresses and beaded veils
Bishop holding his crozier during Mass
Packed pews and an American flag beneath the vaulted ceiling of the cathedral during the vigil
Woman singing beside the pipe organ during the service
Priest kneeling in prayer in the aisle of the cathedral
Priest standing with hands folded in a doorway of the cathedral
Worshippers bowing their heads in prayer during the service
Archbishop in a miter and vestments flanked by clergy at the altar
Priests concelebrating at the altar with raised hands
Woman praying with folded hands during the vigil
Worshippers praying beside Stanley Rother’s casket during the vigil
Woman bowing her head in prayer at the casket beside a priest
Rother’s casket before the altar of the cathedral
Priest walking across the plaza toward the shrine as clergy gather
Clergy seated in the pews during the service
Woman in a dark cloak with a cross emblem among the crowd
Archbishop in a miter speaking before the shrine’s carved retablo
Lector reading in a pool of window light
Clergy processing down the aisle in the dim church
Interior of the new shrine church with rows of wooden pews and a beamed ceiling
The shrine’s white dome and bell tower against a dark sky
The shrine’s bell towers seen through the arcade of a covered walkway
The shrine’s domes rising beyond tall grass