Window of the Soul : SHRINE OPENS PATH TO SPIRITUAL PILGRIMS

It's impossible to miss the massive Spanish mission-style architecture of the new Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine. It's been easily visible as construction progressed over the past few years. The Shrine, located at SE 28th and I-35, was dedicated and opened in February and is now the home of two local Catholic parishes: Sacred Heart and Holy Angels.

Thousands of people have visited the beautiful building and property over the past few weeks. Thousands more are expected to make the pilgrimage to the Shrine each year.

And it is the concept of pilgrimage that Father Don Wolf, Rector of the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, says lies at the heart of the Shrine and its purpose.

"There's a technical definition in the code of Canon Law that says that a shrine is a is to become a place of pilgrimage where people, when they arrive, can expect to encounter an extraordinaire free offer of grace and forgiveness," said Father Wolf. "So, the shrine becomes a place of pilgrimage focused on the life and ministry of Father Rother so that the people who journey here or begin that kind of pilgrimage here journey to what

Father Stanley Rother

the shrine is for, which is this encounter with God's mercy and forgiveness."

Father Stanley Rother was an Oklahoma priest, born and raised in Okarche, serving as a missionary in Guatemala. He was shot and killed inside the rectory of his parish church in July 1981. Pope Francis proclaimed him a martyr for the faith on December 1, 2016, the first recognized martyr from the United States. Father Rother is also the first U.S.-born priest to be beatified by the Catholic Church. Beatification is the last step in the process of sainthood for the Catholic Church. That is why he is now known as "Blessed" Stanley Rother.

The 6,000-square-foot facility features a church, chapel, ministry facilities, an orientation room, a museum, and a gift shop. The museum will highlight the story of Father Rother's life and mission.

Rother, called "Padre Alplas" by the people he ministered to, began his work as a missionary priest in Guatemala in 1968. He learned both Spanish and Tz'utujil, an oral indigenous language. In addition to his pastoral duties, he translated the New Testament into Tz'utujil.

Violence became a regular part of the local landscape during the final year of Rother's life. He returned to visit Oklahoma in May 1981 but made it clear that he would return to Guatemala, even if it cost him his life.

"When he was home, he talked to me very openly about the danger of being kidnaped or killed," said Father Wolf. "He had already committed himself to resist to the point of death because so many of the people had been taken and tortured to death. He had written a letter home the previous December saying, 'The shepherd cannot fun at the first sign of danger.'"

Gunmen broke into Rother's rectory and killed him shortly after midnight on July 28, 1981. He was one of 10 priests murdered in Guatemala that year. The chapel inside the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine is the final resting place for Rother. Father Wolf says the presence of Rother's body is part of the Catholic pilgrimage experience.

"What we like to say is that this person's life of virtue was so representative of the fullness of the life of Christ that he now stands before the face of God in all that fullness," said Father Wolf. "So, there's this vital connection between them and the presence of God among us. We always want people to come into the church or the chapel and know that the presence of God is in somewhere disclosed here, that there's a sense of presence that nourishes your soul."

Father Wolf hopes the surrounding community understands and experiences that sense of presence and invitation as the Blessed Father Rother Shrine begins ministry. The ministry will serve a rapidly-growing Catholic community in South Oklahoma City.

"Our outreach to the Spanish-speaking community has filled up every facility we have," said Father Wolf. "Sacred Heart was established in 1911, and Holy Angels was the first suburban parish established in Oklahoma City around 1921. We have about 1200 people coming to Mass on Sunday at Holy Angels in a church that seats 235. And at Sacred Heart, we have between 3,000 and 4,000 people who come to Mass on Sunday in a church that holds 400."

Father Wolf said that Sunday mass was ultimately held in the gym, a practice that lasted about 15 years. He's excited about the opportunity to grow into something different with multiple Masses offered in English and Spanish. That ministry includes the celebration of Mass daily at 12:15 p.m. (English), on Saturday evenings at 5:00 p.m. (English), and four times on Sunday (English and Spanish). The Shrine will be open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You can find a complete schedule of all services at www.rothershrine.org.

And Father Wolf wants to be sure that the word is out that everyone is welcome to visit.

"That's part of the reason behind the architectural choices made here," said Father Wolf. "We want that invitation to be compelling so that you're welcome here if you're interested in the architectural style, the mosaics, the Tepeyac Hill, or you're just interested in Stan."

And walking through the doors can end up putting anyone on that pilgrim path to a more profound spiritual experience of God.

"It doesn't matter what level you find yourself at," said Father Wolf. "Maybe you're sad, mad, or uncertain about things in your life, and you find your way here. We want this to be a place where, according to our expectations and self-definition, where you find what you're looking for."