The Cause for Bl. Stanley Rother

Sept. 23, 2017: Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, celebrated the Rite of Beatification for Blessed Stanley Rother during a Beatification Mass in downtown Oklahoma City. Blessed Stanley is the first martyr born in the United States and the first U.S.-born priest to be beatified.

Dec. 1, 2016: Pope Francis recognizes the martyrdom of Father Stanley Rother of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, making him the first martyr born in the United States. The recognition of his martyrdom clears the way for his beatification.

June 14, 2015: Vatican commission approves martyrdom in the Cause of Oklahoma’s Servant of God Stanley Rother.

Sept. 3, 2014: Servant of God Stanley Rother’s Positio is presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints by Archbishop Paul S. Coakley and Dr. Ambrosi.

June 27, 2012: Congregation for The Causes of Saints names an official Relator for the Cause of Father Stanley Rother. The Relator together with the collaborator (Dr. Ambrosi) from outside the congregation will prepare the Positio (position paper) on martyrdom.

May 2012: Congregation for The Causes of Saints affirmes the “juridic validity” of the case of Father Rother.

Documents are reviewed to determine if the three questions for martyrdom have been answered. Was his life, ministry and death fully reviewed? Were the rules/guild lines followed? Were all the proper documents there? 

Box of documents arrives at the office of The Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican. 

July 20, 2010: Closing of the archdiocesan phase of the Cause of Canonization of Father Rother.

Oct. 5, 2007: Canonization Tribunal is sworn in and the archdiocesan phase of the Cause of Canonization of Father Rother begins.

USCCB votes to support opening a Cause of Canonization for Father Rother in Oklahoma.

Vatican approves the moving of the Cause of Father Rother from the Diocese of Sololá-Chimaltenango, Guatemala, to the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

Diocese of Sololá-Chimaltenango, Guatemala, approves the moving of the Cause of Father Rother from the Diocese of Sololá-Chimaltenango, Guatemala, to the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

July 28, 1981: Father Stanley Rother killed in his rectory at Saint James the Apostle Catholic Church in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala.

June 14, 2015

A special Theological Commission at the Congregation of the Causes of Saints in Rome voted Tuesday to formally recognize Oklahoma’s Servant of God Father Stanley Rother a martyr. The determination of martyrdom is a critical step in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City’s Cause to have Father Rother beatified, the final stage before canonization as a saint.

“Father Rother laid down his life for Christ and for the people of his parish in Guatemala, whom he dearly loved. It is very encour- aging to move one step closer to a formal recognition by the Church of Father Rother’s heroic life and death as a martyr for the Gospel,” said the Most Rev. Paul S. Coakley, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

Oct. 19, 2014
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley

In a recent issue of the Sooner Catholic I shared a copy of the Aug. 29 letter I had submitted to Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, concerning the Servant of God, Father Stanley Rother.

I had presented my letter personally along with an extensive document called the Positio, which summarizes the facts and testimony concerning the life and death of Father Rother. In that letter, I formally petitioned the Congregation to consider the merits of Father Rother’s Cause for Beatification and Canonization, and render an affirmative judgment that he is worthy to be considered a martyr of the Church. To that petition I added my own opinion that he is indeed worthy of such a designation.

June 27, 2012

Today we received the news that the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has named an official Relator for the Cause of Father Stanley Rother. The Relator together with our collaborator from outside the Congregation will prepare the Position Paper (Positio) on martyrdom. Please continue to pray for the Cause of Father Rother. Archbishop Paul S. Coakley

Put Out in to the Deep
By Archbishop Paul Coakley
April 1, 2012

Among the many joys and splendid memories of my recently concluded ad limina visit there is one which offers the hope of truly lasting and far-reaching effects. More on this below!

First, I want to thank you for your prayers for the ad liminatrip. It was a grace-filled experience. As expected, during our pilgrimage to the threshold of the tombs of the apostles we (the bishops of Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas) conducted an intense round of meetings with various dicasteries of the Roman Curia. This was the necessary business portion of the visit. The spiritual dimension of the pilgrimage included time for prayer and Masses at the major basilicas of the Eternal City. One of the most precious personal experiences was a private meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, accompanied by the other two Bishops of the Province of Oklahoma City: Bishop Slattery of Tulsa and Bishop Taylor of Little Rock. We discussed with the Holy Father the pastoral situation in each of our dioceses as well as our common concerns and challenges. I assured him of the prayers and the support of the faithful of the Archdiocese.

After concluding the full course of events I scheduled an additional appointment at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to express my support for the cause of the Servant of God, Fr. Stanley Rother. During my meeting with the Prefect, Cardinal Amato, he was eager to assure me that significant progress had just been made. After careful study of the cartons of materials which the Archdiocese had submitted on behalf of Father Rother, the Congregation had just affirmed the “juridic validity” of the case. This is the first, but very significant, affirmation by Congregation in the continuing process that we hope will lead ultimately to the canonization of Father Stanley Rother.

The next immediate step is to begin the development of a “positio”. The positio is the formal presentation of evidence based on all of the testimony that has been received. It is a detailed report which will demonstrate that Father Rother died as a martyr for the faith. When the positio has been completed, a process that will take between one and two years, it will be presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and to the Holy Father. It is the Pope who makes the ultimate judgment regarding martyrdom. If the Holy Father affirms that Father Rother died as a martyr, then permission will be granted for his beatification immediately.

We have come to an important moment in this process. It is very important that we increase our prayers for Father Rother’s beatification and canonization. If Fr. Rother is judged to have died as a martyr, a miracle obtained through his intercession will not be required for his beatification. However a miracle obtained after his beatification will be necessary in order for him to be canonized as a saint.

The beatification and canonization of Father Rother would be a great blessing for the whole Church, particularly for the Church in America and Guatemala. The Blesseds and the Saints are reminders that we are all called to holiness of life. Holiness is possible. Our vocation is to become saints. The evidence of holiness is the most compelling witness in the work of the New Evangelization and the renewal of faith. I am firmly convinced that the Lord desires to grant this gift to the Church. Our part is to pray with confidence and perseverance for the beatification and canonization of the Servant of God, Fr. Stanley Rother.