Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine
The Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine was designed to honor the life of Blessed Stanley Rother and serves as his final resting place. Blessed Stanley Rother was a priest from Okarche, Oklahoma, who was martyred in Guatemala in 1981 and is on the path to sainthood.
The Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine features a large dome at the crossing of the nave and transepts, clearly visible from the nearby interstate. The 2,000-seat church includes a chapel for devotional prayer that seats 150 people, a museum that tells the story of his life, as well as a Pilgrim Center, which houses a visitor center, gift shop, storm shelter, administrative offices, and a large event hall to host archdiocesan gatherings, receptions, and retreats for pilgrims visiting the Shrine.
The 14,000 SF museum features a wide range of curated exhibits based on the ministry of Blessed Stanley Rother and education about the cause for his canonization. The Pilgrim Center serves as the first arrival point for pilgrims visiting the Shrine and the pathway to reach the main church and chapel. Blessed Stanley Rother’s story is told here to the pilgrims that come to honor his legacy.
The Shrine was designed in the Spanish Baroque style, featuring stucco, arches, tile roofs, and covered walkways, and recalls the character of the Guatemalan village where Father Stanley served. The landscape was designed to accommodate gatherings, festival processions, and contemplative gardens for private prayer. The Shrine is the largest Catholic church in Oklahoma, allowing for diocesan events, such as ordinations, and high school graduations, as well as other events.
The Archdiocese of Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
ADG | Blatt Architects
- General Contractor
- Construction Manager
New Consruction
43,000 SF
Project Highlights
- The Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine is the largest Catholic church in Oklahoma.
- The scaffolds were highly engineered to fit the spaces inside and outside the dome of the church, which blends Spanish colonial design with modern construction techniques.
- The Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine also features a recreation of Tepeyac Hill, a suburb of Mexico City where Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to St. Juan Diego in 1531. The hill serves as a point of devotion for the Shrine, and once visitors reach the summit of the hill, the landscape opens and provides a panoramic view of the site at 55 feet in height.
