Stanley Francis Rother was born March 27, 1935, in Okarche, Oklahoma, and was baptized in the very same baptismal font at Holy Trinity Catholic Church that Daniel Mueggenborg had been.

He grew up on a farm and at-tended Holy Trinity Catholic Church and School. He worked hard doing required chores, played sports, was an altar server and enjoyed the activities associated with growing up in a small town.

While in high school, he began to discern the possibility of a vocation to the priesthood. He was accepted to Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, Texas. He completed his studies at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and was ordained a priest on May 25, 1963. Father Rother then served as an associate pastor for five years in Oklahoma.

He sought and received permission to join the staff at the Oklahoma diocese’s mission in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. He served the native tribe of the Tz’utujil, who are descendants of the Mayans. Although he struggled with Latin in the seminary, Father Rother learned Spanish and the Tz’utujil language in Guatemala. He celebrated Mass in their language and even helped translate the New Testament.

Among the Tz’utujil, Father Rother was surrounded by extreme poverty. They were living in one-room huts and growing what they could on their small plots of land. He ministered to his parishioners in their homes, eating with them, visiting the sick, digging latrines and aiding them with medical issues. He even put his farming skills to use in the fields, helping to bring in crops and build an irrigation system.

While he served in Guatemala, a civil war raged between the militarist government forces and the guerrillas. The Catholic Church was caught in the middle due to its insistence on loving, catechizing and educating the people. During this conflict, thousands of Catholics were killed. Eventually, Father Rother’s name appeared on a death list. For his safety and that of his associate, Father Rother returned home to Oklahoma in February of 1981 and temporarily celebrated Mass at his alma mater, Holy Trinity Church. That is where Daniel Mueggenborg met him.

Father Rother bravely decided to return to Guatemala just before Palm Sunday following the fifth Sunday in Lent.  His last sermon at Holy Trinity Church was a poignant reflection on John 11, the story of Lazarus. It was in this passage that Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death, but it is for God’s glory so that through it the Son of God may be glorified.” Certainly this very passage had brought him strength and fortitude as he unflinchingly returned to Guatemala.

Life Changing News

In late July 1981, Daniel Mueggenborg was on a family road trip visiting relatives in Western Nebraska. As they drove across the vast expanses of Wyoming and Nebraska they listened to the car radio. As usual, Paul Harvey’s nationwide broadcast came on at noon, but today was different. He began the show with a special announcement. He proclaimed, “Another Catholic Priest Killed in Central America. Father Stanley Rother was assassinated today in his rectory in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala.”

Three men had entered the rectory around 1 a.m. on July 28, 1981. They fought with Father Rother and then executed him. His death shocked the Catholic world. No one has ever been held responsible. Father Rother became the very first martyr who was born on U.S. soil.

Daniel and his family were shocked and saddened by the terrible news and the loss of the loving priest that they had encountered just four months earlier. They immediately prayed the rosary together for Fa-ther Rother as they drove across the light-filled Nebraska prairies.

Heroic Resolve

Daniel was deeply moved by this moment and began a prayer of intercession of Father Stanley that very day. He made a firm decision to honor Father Rother through a daily devotion and entered the seminary after completing his bachelor’s de-gree in geology. He then completed his seminary studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome in 1989. Just prior to his ordination, Daniel spoke with Father Rother’s father. During the conversation he discovered that he had another close connection with the late priest: it turned out that Father Rother’s uncle had married Daniel’s aunt many years earlier in Okarche, where Daniel had been born, but had left when he was in first grade. During the intimate meeting with Father Rother’s father, Daniel received special permission to use the late priest’s chalice during his ordination Mass of Thanksgiving. He wanted to honor, with an immense sense of gratitude and indebtedness, the transformational gift that Father Rother had given him in becoming a priest.

Father Daniel Mueggenborg became the pastor at Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In 2017 Father Mueggenborg received a call from Apostolic Nuncio and was informed that he had been appointed as an auxiliary Bishop in Seattle. He could not immediately tell anyone about this joyous news, so he decided to drive to Okarche to pray at Father Rother’s grave, as he had for many years. While he prayed and reflected on the 35 years that had passed since meeting Father Rother in Holy Trinity Church, he chuckled and said, “This is all your fault! Don’t just lie there, for heaven’s sake, get up and do something.”

Just after his ordination as bishop, Rome announced the beatification of Father Rother as Blessed. Bishop Mueggenborg was present and concelebrated the Mass of the beatification of Blessed Stanley Rother in Oklahoma City on September 23, 2017.

Martyrs are the Seeds of Vocations

In 195 A.D., our ancient church Father Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”

Not only was Bishop Muggenborg inspired to priesthood by Father Rother, but so was Father Rother’s cousin and dozens more in the United States.

Furthermore, the Santiago parish mission Father Rother served was founded in 1548. In its first 400 years not a single person from that parish had been ordained a priest, but in the 35 years since his martyrdom more than 13 young men have been ordained.

As the Diocese of Reno brings an important focus on vocations, it is important to look to the Saints to uncover the qualities that inspire these vocations.

One of the reasons Father Rother made such an impact on young Daniel was the radical way that he lived his priesthood, by literally laying down his life in the image of Christ the Good Shepherd. Bishop Mueggenborg said, “If I am going to be a priest I am going to be a priest 100%. I am not going to do this halfway. I want to do it in a very heroic way.” Father Rother was the model of what a heroic priesthood looked like. That’s why it was so inspiring. To realize that people today choose to live the love of Christ in a radical way, even to the shedding of their blood. People are not martyrs just because of how they died, they are martyrs because of how they lived a life of sacrificial love. Their lives evoked both a positive reaction to the Gospel and a negative reaction from their enemies. The forces of darkness cannot withstand this light.

The government of Guatemala wanted to punish Father Rother because of his good deeds in caring for and loving the indigenous people. His love gave them courage, strength and hope at a time when the government was trying to subjugate them by eradicating these virtues. He grew into this role as his team slowly left, and he chose to stay to care for the community of 25,000 people. The life of that community depended on him. Father Rother had a phenomenal humility and was a quiet person of good humor. The people knew he loved them, and they trusted him. He was a person of tremendous fortitude and dedication who did not understand the meaning of the word “no.” To him “no” meant only a slow “yes.” Even when he lost 30 percent of his budget, he did not give up. During the great earthquake in 1976, he didn’t give up hope. He was the example of the presence of Christ for the people living a life exemplified by humility, perseverance and fortitude through the clarity of his faith. He lived heroically and he died heroically by his own choice.

Blessed Stanley Rother in Reno

In July of 2021, when he was named the Eighth Bishop of the Diocese of Reno, Daniel Muggenborg immediately initiated an effort to bring a dedication to Blessed Stanley Rother to Reno. During the process, he learned that retired diocesan priest Father George Wolfe already had a devotion to Blessed Stanley Rother. When Father Wolfe passed away in 2022, he bequeathed his statue of Blessed Stanley Rother to Bishop Mueggenborg and the Diocese of Reno.

Bishop Mueggenborg requested and received from Archbishop Coakley a first-class relic of Blessed Stanley Rother. Today it is placed at Our Lady of Wisdom Newman Center, enshrined on one of the side altars along with a prayer for his canonization. A stole, woven by the women of Santiago and placed over the bullet holes of where the assassination occurred, is also enshrined. Bishop placed the Ministry of the Newman Center under the patronage of Blessed Stanley Rother. “If he can touch my life as a college student, imagine how he can move the lives of the Reno college students with his heroic ministry!” Bishop Mueggenborg has and will continue to take college students on mission trips to Guatemala. During these trips he celebrates Mass in the room where Blessed Stanley Rother was killed. The bullet holes remain in the floor and his blood still stains the walls.

The Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine in Oklahoma City, opened on February 18, 2023, with Bishop Mueggenborg in attendance. The shrine seats 1,500 people. It will become a powerhouse of Catholic Hispanic ministry celebrating multiple Masses every weekend, while also serving as a pilgrim visitor center, museum and educational center.

Inspired by Saints

Life Changing NewsIn late July 1981, Daniel Mueggen-borg was on a family road trip visit-ing relatives in Western Nebraska. As they drove across the vast expanses of Wyoming and Nebraska they lis-tened to the car radio. As usual, Paul Harvey’s nationwide broadcast came on at noon, but today was different. He began the show with a special announcement. He proclaimed, “An-other Catholic Priest Killed in Central America. Father Stanley Rother was assassinated today in his rectory in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala.”Three men had entered the rectory around 1 a.m. on July 28, 1981. They fought with Father Rother and then executed him. His death shocked the Catholic world. No one has ever been held responsible. Father Rother be-came the very first martyr who was born on U.S. soil.Daniel and his family were shocked and saddened by the terrible news and the loss of the loving priest that they had encountered just four months earlier. They immediately prayed the rosary together for Fa-ther Rother as they drove across the light-filled Nebraska prairies.

ife Changing NewsIn late July 1981, Daniel Mueggen-borg was on a family road trip visit-ing relatives in Western Nebraska. As they drove across the vast expanses of Wyoming and Nebraska they lis-tened to the car radio. As usual, Paul Harvey’s nationwide broadcast came on at noon, but today was different. He began the show with a special announcement. He proclaimed, “An-otherCatholic Priest Killed in Central America. Father Stanley Rother was assassinated today in his rectory in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala.”Three men had entered the rectory around 1 a.m. on July 28, 1981. They fought with Father Rother and then executed him. His death shocked the Catholic world. No one has ever been held responsible. Father Rother be-came the very first martyr who was born on U.S. soil.Daniel and an immense sense of gratitude and indebtedness, the transforma-tional gift that Father Rother had