OKLAHOMA CITY – Groundbreaking for a multi-million-dollar shrine at a site that will honor Blessed Stanley Rother is set for November.
Archbishop Paul Coakley announced Tuesday the groundbreaking for the shrine, which will be located at SE 89th and Shields in Oklahoma City.
According to the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, the $40 million shrine “is the signature element of the first-ever capital campaign for the archdiocese, “One Church, Many Disciples.”
The site will include a 2,000-seat church, a devotional prayer chapel where Blessed Stanley will be buried, classrooms for religious education and ministry facilities. The site will be developed over time.
The church will be the largest Catholic Church in Oklahoma.
There will also be a Blessed Stanley Rother Museum and Pilgrim Center. It will feature artifacts from his life, videos and testimony – all in hopes of keeping the life and legacy of the blessed alive for future generations.
“The groundbreaking for the shrine will be a significant moment in the life of the Church in Oklahoma and for the broader community,” said Most Rev. Paul S. Coakley, Archbishop of Oklahoma City. “The shrine is being built to honor Blessed Stanley Rother, an Oklahoma original and the first U.S.-born priest and martyr ever beatified. It will be a place of pilgrimage where the faithful will come from near and far to honor Blessed Stanley at his final resting place and to seek his intercession for their many needs. It will be a place of welcome, serving all people.”
Groundbreaking for the shrine is set for November 3 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the future site of the shine, S. 89th between Shields Blvd. and I-35 in Oklahoma City.
The event is free and open to the public and includes kid and family activities.
