Officials believe new shrine will draw more visitors to OKC

Catholics and non-Catholics alike came together in February to dedicate the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine in South Oklahoma City.

Catholics and non-Catholics alike – some from other states and nations – came together in February to dedicate the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine in South Oklahoma City. The ceremony marked the first time the general public has been allowed to enter the facility.

The shrine, which took about three years to build at a cost of more than $40 million, honors the life of Father Stanley Rother, who was murdered by unknown assailants in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala, in 1981 where he served as a missionary priest until his death. The Catholic Church recognized Rother as the first U.S.-born martyr for the faith and subsequently beatified the Okarche, Okla., native in 2016.

Officials see the opening of the shrine, which is now the largest Catholic church in Oklahoma, as a much larger and much needed place to worship for Catholics across Oklahoma City, especially for the metro’s growing Hispanic population. They also expect the shrine to serve as a place of pilgrimage for Catholics across the U.S. and around the globe.

“A pilgrimage is simply when someone travels to a holy site to pray and to rededicate their life to God,” explained the shrine’s executive director Leif Arvidson during a presentation last year before the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Commission. “We anticipate tens of thousands of people will come here to pray and learn about Blessed Stanley. These people will stay in local hotels, eat in local restaurants, and they will visit other local sites in our beautiful city.”

Arvidson noted that he previously worked at a shrine in La Crosse, Wisc., for 10 years before moving to OKC, and pilgrims would travel there from every single state in the nation and from various nations. He expects the same thing to happen in Oklahoma City with the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine.

Much like Arvidson, Visit Oklahoma City President Zac Craig also believes the shrine could be a future pilgrimage destination. He recalled what Arvidson shared with him and the other commission members last year when he said he witnessed upwards of 75,000 people annually who came on pilgrimages to that Wisconsin shrine.

“How that translates to the crossroads of America right here in Oklahoma City, I’m not so sure. But I am excited to think about how this site will play a part in future conventions and other events for Oklahoma City,” Craig said.

Visit Oklahoma City, formerly the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau, which is a division of the Chamber, began having conversations with the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City two years ago about how the CVB, the Archdiocese and the shrine could work hand in hand to help bring conventions to the city and create added value and economic impact for OKC.

“Whether it’s a motorcoach group or an international guest from possibly Mexico or Central America or elsewhere, I think there is great interest for this [shrine], and we are certainly going to promote it. And I really think people are going to gravitate towards this attraction when they come to Oklahoma City, for whatever reason, over the coming months,” Craig said.

The shrine should blend in well with other cultural assets across Oklahoma City, from the Oklahoma City National Memorial to the First Americans Museum.

“It’s yet another diamond in the crown of Oklahoma City, especially as it relates to just an inspirational story that is so unique,” he said.

A version of this article appeared in the March 2023 edition of the VeloCity newsletter.