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July 31, 2019
SANTIAGO ATITLAN - The year before Blessed Stanley Rother was murdered in Guatemala, an iconic photograph of him holding the hand of a young girl was captured outside of his parish in Santiago Atitlan.
On Sunday – 39 years after that photograph was taken -- the little girl, now 52, returned to Saint James the Apostle Catholic Church to celebrate the second feast day of Blessed Stanley and to meet Archbishop Paul Coakley.
“To meet her after all of these years was such a beautiful experience. I’m not sure she knows how famous that image has become,” Archbishop Coakley said. “She and her mother were delightful, and humbled just to be a part of the celebration. It was a highlight of our pilgrimage to Guatemala.”
The “little girl” is Elena Petzey. Her mom used to bring her to Mass at Saint James when Blessed Stanley was pastor. They met one morning at the top of the steps outside of the main door of the sanctuary.
The black-and-white photo has become one of the most famous photos of Blessed Stanley, appearing in parishes around the world. It has been sculpted into statues with the largest statue at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Okarche, Blessed Stanley’s hometown.
Archbishop Coakley celebrated Mass Sunday at Saint James in honor of Blessed Stanley’s feast day, which marks the day he was martyred – July 28, 1981. Archbishop Coakley made the pilgrimage to Guatemala with 52 pilgrims from Oklahoma and elsewhere to visit the churches where Blessed Stanley served.
The feast day is celebrated every year by parishes in Guatemala as well as the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, the Diocese of Tulsa and the Diocese of Little Rock.
Photo Diane Clay, editor, Sooner Catholic
