Truly an Unlikely Martyr

Stanley Rother was born on March 27, 1935, to Franz and Gertrude Smith Rother at their farmhouse just west of Okarche, OK. Two days later he was baptized at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Okarche by Msgr. Zenon Steber. Stanley and his two sisters and two brothers were raised in an extremely devout home.

“Religion was so much a part of our home and our lives that we didn’t need to talk about it,” said Sister Marita of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ and Stanley’s older sister. “God was central to our lives.”

Stanley attended Holy Trinity Catholic School in Okarche for both elementary and secondary education. Upon his graduation in 1953, he decided to pursue the priesthood and attended St. John’s Seminary in San Antonio for two years before moving to Assumption Seminary in the same city. Academics, however, were not a strong suit for Stanley.

Stanley was asked to leave Assumption Seminary in San Antonio because of poor grades. A hard worker, he spent more time dedicated to his duties as sacristan, groundskeeper, bookbinder, plumber and gardener, which left little time for studies. Still, he wanted to pursue the priesthood.

Stanley then went with his father and Father Edmund Von Elm, the pastor at Okarche, to see Bishop Victor Reed. Bishop Reed arranged for Stanley to go to Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Bishop Reed ordained Stanley into the priesthood on May 25, 1963.

He spent the first five years of his ministry at several parishes in Oklahoma without much notice, servicing at St. William Parish in Durant, St. Francis Xavier Parish in Tulsa, Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa and Corpus Christi Parish in Oklahoma City. When he learned of the need for a priest at the Oklahoma mission with the Tzutuhil Indians in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, he immediately volunteered. Bishop Reed assigned him to the mission in 1968.

At that time, Santiago Atitlan was one of the most impoverished areas in Central America. The people suffered greatly from low wages and hard labor, malnutrition, tuberculosis, disease, polluted water and high rates of childhood mortality. The Catholic Mission of Oklahoma initiated programs to both combat the poverty and provide spiritual support through the sacramental ministry of the Church.

Growing up on a farm, Father Rother offered both knowledge and mechanical skills to the people. In addition to fulfilling his duties as a priest, he would work a bulldozer to clear land, help build a medical facility, work on the church building, pull teeth and give shots, and work on crops of wheat, corn, black beans, vegetables, avocado and peach trees. In every way, Father Rother labored to care for the people physically and spiritually.

Father Rother worked hard to learn Spanish and the Tzutuhil language, which had only recently been put into written form. Father Rother diligently worked with the Tzutuhil language, eventually translating the gospels into the language as well as the Mass prayers. He taught the people how to read and write, even broadcast daily lessons in language and math through the small radio station located on the mission.

“Father Rother grew like I’ve never seen anyone grow in the priesthood,” said Jude Pansini, a co-worker with him in Guatemala. “He went from being an ordinary person like the rest of us to someone very special. Most of all, he know the law of Christ. He was a transformed wheat farmer.”

The political situation in Guatemala grew increasingly volatile in the late 1070s. A CIA lead coup in 1954 initiated a decades-long struggle between the government and “communist” elements. In 1978, Fernado Romeo Lucas Garcia was elected president. Receiving over 10 million dollars of military equipment from the United States and logistical support from CIA advisors on the ground, the Guatemalan government began to prosecute a war on “leftist” or “communist” groups. There were four militias that were battling against the right-wing government. These militias consisted mainly of poor Guatemalans who were discontent with the poverty and disparity in wealth. The U.S.-backed government considered the Catholic Church to be part of the revolution and a threat. They targeted Catholic priests and lay leaders for intimidation and assassination.

Father Rother, commenting on the situation, wrote, “The country is in rebellion and the government is taking it out on the Church. The low wages that are paid, the very few that are excessively rich, the bad distribution of land – these are some of the reasons for widespread discontent. The Church seems to be the only force that is trying to do something about the situation, and therefore, the government is after us.”

In a letter dated May 21, 1980, Father Rother further describes the situation. “The political situation here is really sad… Nicaragua is by far the worst-off right now, El Salvador is getting close to overt violence and Guatemala is systematically doing away with all liberal or even moderates in government, the labor leaders, and apparently, there are lots of kidnappings that never get in the papers. There are something like 15 bodies that show up every day in the country and show signs of torture and then shot.”

In 1980 Father Rother was warned that he was on the right-wing list for assassination and that his life was in danger. The government troops were regularly in the village, questioning and intimidating people. Some 20 villagers disappeared during this time. His colleagues and friends encouraged him to get out of Guatemala before anything happened to him.

In a December 1980 letter to the Catholic people in Oklahoma, Father Rother wrote, “This is one of the reasons I have for staying in the face of physical harm. The shepherd cannot run at the first sight of danger.”

He reluctantly returned to Okarche in January of 2981 but was not pleased with his decision. While hundreds of catechists and nine priests had been killed in the government purge, Father Rother found himself safely on the family farm in Okarche. He was despondent and distant, often staring out the window for long periods.

“Looking back now, I wish I had never seen him then in that way. He was so distant… He just sat in the house and looked out,” said Sister Marita.

Father Rother was compelled to return to Santiago Atitlan. It had been his home for 13 years and he deeply love the people. They were his people. He was their priest. Since there wasn’t a Tzutuhil name for Stanley, they affectionately called him “Padre A’Pas,” or Father Francis.
Father Rother asked Archbishop Salatka of Oklahoma City for permission to return to Guatemala. “My people need me,” he said. “I can’t stay away from them any longer.”
He returned to Satiago Atitlan in April 2981. Government troops had surrounded the city, claiming they were there to protect the people from the guerrilla forces in the mountains. Government informers were in the city and the people were closely monitored, especially Father Rother.

In the early morning hours of July 28, 1981, three assassins began searching for Father Rother at the rectory. Father Rother had taken to sleeping in the downstairs room rather than his upstairs bedroom. Francisco Bocel, the teenage brother of Father Bocel who worked with Father Rother, was forced to leader the soldiers to his room.

They knocked on the door where Father Rother was sleeping. Rather than trying to escape, Father Rother opened the door. A struggle began and Francisco reports hearing Father Rother shout, “Kill me here!” Two shots ensued, following by silence. Father Rother had been shot twice in the head, but not before throwing several punches. Autopsy reports say that his knuckles were badly bruised.

The people’s love for Father Rother was evident. When news of his death spread to the people of Santiago Atitlan, they gathered in the square that faced the church and prayed silently all day. It was reported that more than a thousand were there for the duration of the day.

Raymond Bailey, a U.S. embassy staff member from Guatemala City said, “It was like their God had died. It was a sight I’ll remember the rest of my life.”

The first burial Mass for Father Rother was held at the mission of July 29. The crowd was so large that benches had to be removed from the church. More than 2,500 people filled the church and thousands more stood outside. Their love for Father Rother was so profound that they requested to keep his heart and bury it at the church. Once they received ecclesiastical permission, the heart of Father Rother was carefully wrapped in gauze and was interred in the floor of the church sanctuary.

The second Mass was in Guatemala City the following day and then his body was returned to Oklahoma City where Archbishop Salatka, family and friends received it.

Archbishop Salatka, the celebrant and homilist for Father Rother’s Oct. 3 funeral Mass in Oklahoma City, said, “He went forth from his own country to share the love of Christ.”
In 1963, Father Rother designed his ordination card, “For my own sake, I am a Christian; for the sake of others I am a priest.” This was fulfilled in his life and death.

If you would like to learn more about Father Rother, please visit the website for the Father Stanley Rother Guild at www.fatherstanleyrotherguild.org
 

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Written by Mason Beecroft