Together in Faithful Stewardship: Supporting our Church through year-end giving - shrine

Because of you, pilgrims encounter faith 

Pilgrims from around the world come to the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine to learn about Oklahoma’s own martyr. Increasing by more than 100,000 visitors from last year, the shrine welcomed roughly 260,000 pilgrims by the end of October. The shrine remains dedicated to telling the story of Blessed Stanley and providing an environment of encounter worth visiting for all future pilgrims to come. 

For many visitors, the shrine is a haven of information. The museum provides an extensive display that takes each visitor through the life of Blessed Stanley. For others, the shrine is a place of artistic brilliance. With Spanish colonial-style architecture of the shrine, beautifully painted murals and retablos, the shrine offers an incredible experience of color, texture and sacred artistry. However, for a vast majority of the visitors who come to the shrine, it is a place where they can exercise their devotions to Blessed Stanley Rother, Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill.

The opportunity to exercise a particular devotion is not only a blessing, but also vital. If faith without works is dead, then a devotion without action is null. The shrine provides the space and the means for pilgrims who yearn to express their devotion. A simple act of love, such as leaving flowers at the feet of Our Lady of Guadalupe, praying before the gravesite of Blessed Stanley in the chapel, or sitting in silence in the main church gazing upon the crucifix can transform the heart and bring the soul closer to God’s love.

It is crucial that the shrine exists to host these acts of faith. Therefore, the shrine remains deeply grateful to the donors who give what they can to support the shrine. Without generous donations, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims could not exercise their devotions at the shrine. 

The Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine continues to rely on the generosity of those willing to support the shrine in order to maintain its sacred space. Donations from supporters ensure that the shrine remains a site of spiritual encounter. Contributions to the shrine help preserve this holy place of devotions, allowing it to remain a place of faith-filled action. The shrine invites all to consider making a donation as the year ends to support its ongoing mission. It just might provide the pathway for another heart to grow closer in knowing Christ!

Araceli Mingura is the director of communications at the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine



Twenty men were ordained to the permanent diaconate by Archbishop Coakley on Nov. 7 at the Bl. Stanley Rother Shrine in Oklahoma City. Photo Chris Porter/Sooner Catholic.