Rother shrine roof, brick nearing completion

OKLAHOMA CITY – For several months, the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine has been blue and salmon as crews worked to finish placing roof tiles and brick. Starting next month, the shrine church will begin to resemble its Spanish Colonial style. 

The roof and brick will be completed by the end of June, taking a major visual step toward the completion and dedication of the shrine on Nov. 4. 

The roof of the shrine, including the large dome and smaller dome caps, is 30 percent complete. It will be covered with the same synthetic Spanish tile as the rest of the shrine roof with final roof tiles scheduled to be placed mid-June.

White brick already covers the sides of the shrine, and masonry crews are working their way up the front towers of the church. 

The brick work is 75 percent complete and will be finished by the end of May. 

Near the end of the project the zocalo will be completed, creating a large gathering space leading to the front doors of the shrine, complete with fountain. 

Inside the shrine, drywall has begun in the chapel, nave, sacristy and entry wings.

Each day, these projects are being undertaken by 60 to 70 crew members, some of whom will attend Mass at the shrine church. 

The Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine will be blessed and dedicated at 11 a.m. Nov. 4 with the first Mass celebrated by Archbishop Coakley. He will be joined by bishops from across the country and Guatemala, priests from Oklahoma and other dioceses, religious men and women, the Rother family and the faithful. The event is open to the public. 

The following day, Nov. 5, Archbishop Coakley will lead a procession, blessing and dedication of Tepeyac Hill on the shrine campus with statues of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Juan Diego at the top.

The shrine is named for Blessed Stanley Rother, an Okarche farmer who in 1963 became a priest of what was then the Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa and served as a missionary in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. In 1981, Father Rother was murdered in his rectory during a violent civil war. The perpetrators have never been caught. In 2016, Pope Francis declared him a martyr for the faith – the first recognized Catholic martyr from the United States. He was beatified in 2017 in Oklahoma City.   

The $40 million shrine is the signature element of the first-ever capital campaign for the archdiocese – One Church, Many Disciples. The site eventually will include the 2,000-seat church, a chapel where Blessed Stanley will be entombed, an education building, an event space and several areas designated for shrines and devotion. The site will be developed over time.

Along with the Spanish colonial-style church – which will be the largest Catholic Church in Oklahoma – additional elements at the shrine site will be a Tepeyac Hill and a museum and pilgrim center. Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City is where Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Saint Juan Diego in 1531. The pilgrim center and museum will welcome thousands of visitors each year to an experience that leads them through the life, witness and martyrdom of Blessed Stanley.

The church will host many large diocesan events and will help accommodate the growing Hispanic population whose parishes are significantly overcrowded.

The design architect for the project is Franck & Lohsen Architects in Washington D.C. They are supported by local architectural firm ADG. The general contractor is The Boldt Company in Oklahoma City with Cooper Project Advisors serving as the owner’s representative.  

For more details and updates on dedication events, visit archokc.org/shrinededication. For more information about the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, visit rothershrine.org. 

Diane Clay is editor of the Sooner Catholic.