“People from all over the world can come and know more about him and really ask for his intercession,” said María Ruiz Scaperlanda, author of “The Shepherd Who Didn’t Run,” a 2015 biography of Stanley Francis Rother.
The 46-year-old priest, shot to death in Guatemala in 1981, became the first person born in the United States to be declared a martyr by the Catholic Church.
Catholic donors funded the shrine, which was constructed debt free, Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul S. Coakley said. Evangelical Protestants make up the largest share of the Bible Belt state’s adults at 47%, according to the Pew Research Center. Mainline Protestants follow at 18%. Catholics are next at 8%.
Rother’s story begins with his 1935 birth in Okarche, a small town about 40 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.While he served as an altar boy at his hometown Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Rother seemed destined for farm life. He studied vocational agriculture in high school, while his brother, Tom, took a Latin course – a language long associated with Catholicism.
Amid political and military unrest in the late 1970s, parishioners began disappearing, their bodies found dumped on roadsides. By 1981, Rother knew he was on a “hit list,” according to the Oklahoma City archdiocese.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
$50M shrine to honor slain priest, first US Catholic martyrThe birth of Stanley Francis Rother was by all accounts ordinary, aside from the weather
Read more »
‘Dungeons & Dragons’ John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein’s GoldDay Inks First Look With Paramount PicturesAhead of the SXSW world premiere and the March 31 opening of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Paramount Pictures has closed a multi-year, first look deal with the film’s directors…
Read more »
Spurs waive Stanley JohnsonThe Spurs are 'working' to convert second-year center Charles Bassey’s two-way deal to...
Read more »
Spurs To Waive Stanley JohnsonSpurs To Waive Stanley Johnson - RealGM Wiretap
Read more »
Parishioners 'shocked' at possible bankruptcy for Catholic Diocese of San DiegoOn Friday, the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego revealed it is considering filing for bankruptcy for the second time in light of new lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of minors in the past.
Read more »
Morgan Stanley downgrades XPO, says logistics company is a 'show me story' after latest quarterMorgan Stanley is the latest firm downgrading the stock after earnings, following Wells Fargo and Jefferies.
Read more »