Bullets in the Floorboards

A priest gets put on a death list, leaves for safety, then chooses to go back anyway. That decision sits at the centre of our conversation about Blessed Stanley Rother, the American Catholic missionary from Oklahoma who served in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala and ultimately died as a martyr alongside the people he loved.

We walk through the unlikely details that make his story so gripping: a seminarian who struggled with Latin, a missionary who never felt fully fluent in Spanish, and then the quiet miracle of learning the indigenous Sutuhil language well enough to preach, translate prayers of the Mass, and help bring the New Testament into the words of the people. We also talk about the “weird and wonderful” Catholic reality of relics and why Rother’s heart and blood remain in the wall of a Guatemalan church.

As the violence of the late 70s and early 80s closes in, the episode turns to the pastoral courage that defines Catholic sainthood: burying the dead, protecting a terrified community, and refusing to let evil add the extra cruelty of disappearance. The final scenes include a father’s heartbreaking pride and a closing prayer asking God to make us missionaries after His own heart.

If you care about Catholic history, modern martyrdom, missionary discipleship, or what faithful fatherhood can form in a son, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find these stories of courage and hope.

Transcript

A Father’s Dreaded Knock

SPEAKER_02 0:00

And a black car pulled up, and a priest that we know very well got out. And we knew uh just already through the window, we knew I knew what he was gonna come to tell us. So he says, I got to the door, and before he could knock, I opened it. And before he could say anything, I looked him in the eye and I said, Father, they didn't get him out of the house, did they?

Discovering A Relic In Guatemala

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Father, you go, you mentioned last time that you at least once a year you go down to Guatemala. And I thought that maybe uh we could close out this episode with somebody that I only knew of because of you. Before he was beatified or anything, you had told me the story of Father Rother down in Guatemala. And for any of our viewers or listeners that don't know who he is, would you mind sharing both a little of his story but also how you came to find out about Father Rother?

SPEAKER_02 1:01

Sure. Yeah, I'll I'll I'd like to focus mostly on his story, but I'll but uh our bishop, Bishop Wall, when uh sent three of us as seminarians to do Spanish immersion in Antigua, Guatemala in 2012, which is a beautiful summer we lived with uh Catholic family there, and uh had just had the Spanish immersion period, which uh really gave us uh uh a leg up on the ministry in Spanish language that we need to do as priests here. So we went down there for that, and uh I'd actually we had myself and several other seminarians that were from different dioceses all over the country that were studying there for the summer in this program. We had arranged like a long weekend that was really intended to be vacation. So we took a day off of school and uh went to Lake Pana Hutchell, big, beautiful lake there with three volcanoes around it, and uh stayed in this town, Pana Hachel, which is like a it really is kind of a party town. We were on our best behavior, a bunch of seminarians together, but we went there to have a to have a fun weekend, to go to a nature reserve, to go ziplining, to do all this stuff. And uh this is 2012, and I think from that group, which was probably close to 20 seminarians from from different dioceses around the United States, I don't think any of us knew about Father Stanley Rother at the time. And uh so we went over from the town we were staying in, we hopped on a little boat taxi across the lake to this other town, Santiago, Santiago Atitlan, um, and visited the church there uh just kind of as something to do and uh to go see our Lord in this church and see what the see what the parish was like in this little town. And when we were there, a lot of us still had really bad Spanish. I don't think I could really read Spanish at the time, but a couple of the guys were could could read enough Spanish that as we uh entered the church to the right, we were looking around this big, beautiful church, you know, several hundred years old, and uh named after St. James the Apostle. And at that time, uh Blessed Rother's heart and blood was in the wall on the right side of the church. And so they were we saw, you know, uh, I think a maybe a picture and a plaque of this man with a beard, and uh, I think it was written there. It might have actually been written in Sutuhil Spanish and English. So maybe, maybe it wasn't just that guys could read Spanish, maybe it was in English already. But uh, however we understood it, we realized that there is an American priest from Oklahoma, and his blood and his heart are in this wall. And and we didn't that we didn't really know the story, and like I said, none of us really spoke Spanish, and certainly not nobody spoke Sutu Gil, which is the language of the town. So um, so we left and did our zip lining. And but uh for I think probably for all of us that really stuck with us, and I'm sure everyone got back and started to reach research now, blessed Stanley Rother, um, and his story.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Well, I love the fact before we go on to that story is the Catholic Church is so weird. Um, we have hearts and blood and walls and hands and cases and and everything else, which is awesome and and weird at the same time. Yeah. But so so Father Rother, so tell me how did Father Rother's heart and blood end up in a wall in the middle of a small town church in Guatemala?

The Missionary Who Struggled To Learn

SPEAKER_02 4:31

So Blessed Stanley Rother was uh born to a German farming family in uh Oklahoma, O'Carchie in 1939, I think. And uh and through uh growing up uh with a family of strong faith, uh he discerned a vocation to the priesthood. And then uh in going to seminary, I guess the earliest kind of note on on his story in the in the broader sense is that he struggled in seminary. In fact, um he uh I think was I think was dis dismissed from from the first seminary that he went to in Texas after several years, maybe six years in seminary, but uh he struggled academically the whole time and finally uh I don't it wasn't like he was kicked out, but you know, for academic reasons, he wasn't able to continue there at the recommendation of the seminary staff. And I think the primary issue being that uh seminary studies at that point, this is the uh late 50s, early 60s, were still all in Latin. So that's if you don't understand Latin, you're not gonna be able to get to the rest of the material. And he really struggled with Latin, so so it everything was difficult for him academically. Uh his bishop believed that he had a vo that Stanley had a vocation to the priesthood, so sent him to another seminary, Mount St. Mary's in Maryland, uh, where they it kind of got him through. Uh, and then when he was ordained uh in 1963, it seems like they, in a certain sense, didn't really know what to do with him in Oklahoma. At that time, Oklahoma was one large diocese. Now it's Oklahoma City and Tulsa, but at the time it was both uh one the whole state was a diocese. And uh so for his first several years he was parochial vicar, you know, assistant pastor at several different parishes, and I you know, I think mostly was uh working on like building the retreat center, like chopping wood and and building these buildings for them. In uh the late 60s, an opportunity arose to go uh uh and uh serve at a mission that the Oklahoma Archdiocese of Oklahoma had in Guatemala, and that was in this town, Santiago Atitlan, at this parish, Santiago Apostol. Uh so Father Stanley went down to serve in this mission. He volunteered and went down to serve. And I think um the other people that were serving at that mission over the next several years kind of fell off. He wound up being the only priest there, and uh, of course, spent the rest of his life, the rest of his priesthood serving at this parish in Santiago, Atilan, in Guatemala. And I think the first really amazing note um on his story is going back to his struggles in seminary, because Latin was his obstacle academically, and then he had a very hard time learning Spanish, which I think in the world of learning languages is relatively like Latin and Spanish are kind of the easier side. Yeah, and he's with this people serving as the pastor for this community that speaks a beautiful and detailed and ancient indigenous language, Sutuhil. Uh not not unsimilar in some ways to some of the languages we know out here, Navajo or uh Zuni. And um all very difficult languages to learn with inflections and you know, they've never been written. Sounds that we don't use all these things. And so, anyway, before long he's writing letters to his family, and one of them he just says, you know, he's a he's a beautifully kind of simple and stark writer. He just says, I'm preaching in Sutu Gil now. And uh so he was able to learn that language, never, I don't think, really got fluent in Spanish, but was able to be fluent in Sutu Gil, so much so that he was able to translate the prayers of the Mass and other par prayers for the parish, assist and lead in a translation of uh the New Testament into Sutu Gil. And then all these other skills that he had uh that didn't seem like they really figured out how to use them in the States came into play right away. You know, he comes from the farms, he's industrious, so he was able to help them organize like farming co-ops and radio station that along with the catechesis at the parish and all these things. Um, and just able to be out with the people and industrious and hardworking, which was what he loved and kind of gave that Christian witness that we were talking about.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

He's just an amazing missionary.

SPEAKER_02 9:01

Yeah, and yeah, and that although he's certainly there objectively proclaiming the gospel phase two of you know of the missionary plan of the church, um, his his Christian witness was exactly suited to this this community there. It's what they could see as somebody who works alongside them, is with them, and cares about them. So learn their language and is farming with them. That's what you know, and that they were fishers, a lot of them too. So I'm sure they're teaching

Witness Through Work And Language

SPEAKER_02 9:26

them how to fish. And um so at the same time, you have the on the troubles that affected pretty much all of Central and South America at the time. And uh there was uh really kind of an ongoing genocide against the indigenous people from the side of the military government. And eventually that uh military presence came to the lake, and uh, and you know, men with guns, armed men would gather the town in the town square and and say, We're here to protect you from your enemies. We know that there are we know that there are people among you who are against the government, and you know, they had all these tactics to to disrupt and tear apart communities and to terrorize people. One of them would be, you know, they just showed up with these guns. There's they never seen anybody with a gun there before. And they're saying, if you turn in, you know, the if you turn in the enemies, uh your family will be protected. Well, there's not any enemies there, but their people are now afraid for their family. So I I think although there was a lot of political movement even in uh priests in southern and central America at the time, but Father Stanley wasn't really interested in that, but he had the heart to care for his people on behalf of Christ. So he would say things at these uh meetings that they were called together in the town square, like, Who are you protecting us from? You know, uh and you know, that you're the only ones that are armed. And so this persecution really kind of began in earnest and at the lake in the late 70s and early eighties. The church was often a target of this kind of persecution just because by her nature, if the church is functioning well in the love of Christ, we're imbuing people with a dignity that you know people that are persecuting others don't want them to be imbued with. Right.

SPEAKER_01 11:12

I think we we do you we unity comes from God, division comes from Diablo, the divider. Like yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:19

So uh his catechist started to be killed, and others in the community were kidnapped, and the you know, another really big uh terror tactic that you see in that era uh is that the tactic of uh you know making desaparacidos disappearing people. So um just gone one day. Yeah, if if ten people are are kidnapped, uh you know, ten ten men are kidnapped from the community, a few days later four bodies will show up on uh mutilated on the shore, but the other six are never to be found. And and that's actually there's an intentional terrorization going on there because we know how painful it is that you are pretty sure that they are that your husband, your father, uh your friend is dead, but

Terror At The Lake And Death Lists

SPEAKER_02 12:06

you don't really have any closure. You can't bury a body. Now, Father Staling, one of the things he was doing was finding bodies and burying them, the ones that weren't taken to mass graves and other places. So, um, so he's dealing with this great persecution of his people. He's continuing to celebrate mass, hear confessions, catechise. Uh, their radio station was actually that they had they made a catechetical radio station. It was destroyed. I believe and those catechists, a lot of them were kidnapped or killed from the indigenous community there. Um, and eventually uh it was made known to uh Father Stanley that he and his assistant uh priest there, who was an indigenous priest, indigenous Catholic priest, um, were on the death list officially. And in January 1981, although Father Stanley wasn't fully convinced that he should leave, he definitely wanted to get his assistant to safety, and there uh uh his bishop called him home to Oklahoma. So out of obedience, uh he went back to Oklahoma in early 1981. And I think uh certainly had a beautiful reunion with his family and uh uh was glad to see his parents. He has a sister who's a religious sister as well, and the rest of his family there in Okharchi, which is you know, there that family is a big part of that town. And uh, but his his uh his dad says in an interview that Mount St. Mary's put out, uh you can find on YouTube, it's beautiful and short. There's some clips from an interview with him. His dad says, you know, before too long, uh uh he was glad to be home, but within a couple weeks he was mostly looking out the window. And there was just a sense that Father Stanley uh knew that he needed to be with his people, he needed to be with uh his flock as the shepherd uh in a time of great uh persecution and danger for them, and it wasn't good for him to be away. Uh but he was home on obedience, and so he went and did a little retreat at Mount St. Mary's Seminary, and then uh spoke with his bishop. And and to I just think this is it's incredible that his bishop uh in prayer and discernment agreed to send him back. You know, Father Stanley uh requested to go back to Guatemala where he would be in danger of death almost immediately, and his his bishop had the prayer and discernment to agree is is amazing. So um, so at this point before he went back, Father Stanley told his his bishop and parents and friends that when he returns before too long they're gonna come to kill him, and he has a plan for when that happens, and he says his plan is gonna go down fight, he's gonna go down fighting. And he says there's three reasons. The first reason is that uh I actually would be kind of cool if I survived. I wouldn't, you know, he didn't have a death wish. I'd like to live. Slim chance, slim chance. But first reading, first reason, slim chance of survival. Uh second reason is that I'm gonna make enough noise that if anybody else hears what's going on, they can escape, they'll be able to get out of danger. And he said, and the third reason is they're not gonna disappear me. So they're not gonna I they're I'm not gonna let them give this terror to my community. Where's his body? You know, is he really dead? And they're he said, they're gonna have to kill me in the house, is what he said. Wow. And so he got back in amazing, got back in time for Holy Week. I think he got back in time for Palm Sunday and the trituum, and then uh celebrated with with his community there, and then uh and then once it got to uh to the summertime again, uh his n his name was back on the death list, and he was told you should leave because they're coming to kill you, father, and he'd already made up his mind to not leave. But he know he like I said, he He doesn't want to die. He wanted to live. So he uh and toward the end of uh July, he was actually staying in a different part of the rectory of the church um in different nights so that he would be harder to find. There was a young man staying at the parish who was the brother of of the priest, and uh three men had on the night of July twenty eighth, three men, uh masked men with guns came, they found that young man, forced that young man to go and uh bring them to where Father Stanley was. Father Stanley was actually sleeping in what was like a utility closet, closet, janitorial closet that night. They let the they opened Father Stanley opened the door, they let that young man go. And uh the the record of the scene afterwards is that uh is that the Father Stanley went down fighting. There was uh there's knuckle scrapes on the wall, and there's evidence of a struggle, and there were two bullets that were shot. One is was lodged in Father Stanley's head, and the other went through him and into the floor. That that bullet mark is still there if you go and celebrate Mass in that room now. Um and the people immediately understood that Father Stanley was a martyr for them. The sisters that were there at the lake, who were primarily indigenous Carmelites, came and collected his blood that had been spilt in a jar. That's the jar of his blood that was in the wall. And then there were there was uh the I don't know how to dispute, but a discussion about where his body should be uh after his death, because the people in Santiago understood immediately that he was a martyr for them.

SPEAKER_01 17:29

Right.

SPEAKER_02 17:30

He's their father, and yeah, so they wanted him to remain with them. But his you know, his family has the Okarchi family, the the Rother family cemetery in Okarchi, and they wanted him home with them. And so the agreement was come that uh came up was come upon that they would move his uh body back home to Okarchi, but his blood and his heart would remain in Santiago.

SPEAKER_01 17:52

Such a Catholic move.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

Yeah, it's our you can already see like, oh, this guy's probably a saint if they're fighting for the body.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

Yeah, if they're fighting over the body, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:59

The last thing I just want to say about the that story of the martyrdom of now blessed Stanley, as his martyrdom was approved and he was beatified a few years ago, is just um something his dad says in in that video from Mount St. Mary's, at least the clip is in there. Um, because remember, I said that he had told his bishop and his parents and his those

Martyrdom Remembered And Closing Prayer

SPEAKER_02 18:20

his close loved ones about his plan and how they weren't gonna be able to disappear him. And his dad in this video must, I mean, he must be late 80s or early 90s, I don't know. Uh he's he says, the way that he found out that his son has been killed, he says, Well, my wife and I were sitting in the living room, you know, on our couch, and a black car pulled up and a priest that we know very well got out. And we knew uh just already through the window, we knew I knew what he was gonna he had come to tell us. So he says, I got to the door, and before he could knock, I opened it. And before he could say anything, I looked him in the eye and I said, Father, they didn't get him out of the house, did they? Which is is so crazy. I mean, so moving and beautiful. And and so, so and and what it speaks to me is like it's making me tear up. Right. This father who knows his son just got killed, is I'm sure full of grief and all the different things that the heart's going through, but is proud of his son. He's proud of his son and was like rooting for his son. They didn't get him out of the house. And I definitely think, you know, you know, of our Lord embracing his cross and the father's love for our Lord and what that means for our mission as as members of Jesus Christ, you know, just to stay there and also to encourage each other. It's easy to encourage each other for things that are really fun. Yeah, but can we encourage each other to embrace the cross and stay there?

SPEAKER_01 19:50

No, I mean, what an is what an inspiration for everybody, especially us as Catholic men, though. Like, here's how you be a Catholic man. Like the it's not easy. In fact, it might end in death, or it might even likely end in death.

SPEAKER_02 20:03

But yeah, and how's you know, how's this guy able to be heroic in a saintly way and give his life for Jesus Christ and his people? He had really good Catholic parents.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

Yeah, I mean, that's you know, I mean, yeah, that is crazy. Yeah. Well, Father, on that on that great note, why don't you uh close us out with a prayer?

SPEAKER_02 20:20

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen. Lord, help us to be missionaries after your own heart, help us to be men after your own heart, help us to be deeply rooted in our relationship with you so that we know who we are, we know who we're called to serve, and how you're calling us to pour our lives out. We ask for the intercession of our Lady of Guadalupe, Blessed Stanley Roth there, and we pray, our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 21:08

Awesome. Thank you, Father.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

Thank you for watching this episode of Christerocast. For more information on the Christeros or to join the movement, check out our website at theChristeros.org. That's theChristeros with an S.org. There you could find our daily reflection series as well as many of our publications and articles. Thank you for watching, and viva Christore.