'It's something to be read.' How word pictures help tell Blessed Stanley Rother's story

MOORE — A recent iconography workshop took on special meaning because of its focus on an Oklahoma priest on the path to Roman Catholic sainthood.

Detail by detail, students learned how to write a Blessed Stanley Rother icon.

The red color of Rother's robe represented his martyrdom. A New Testament held in his hand symbolized the priest's painstaking work to translate scripture into the Tz’utujil language of his beloved Guatemalan parishioners.

"We call it iconography — icon writing — because it tells a word picture, and with the symbols, you are able to read it," said iconographer Beverly Layton, who led the workshop in Moore.

The Lawton woman taught nine people during the weeklong class hosted by Sister Maria Faulkner and the faith-based nonprofit Gospel of Life Disciples + Dwellings, also known as GOLD. Layton said the week was special because it was dedicated to creating icons that tell the story of Blessed Stanley Rother, who holds a special place in the hearts of many Catholics, particularly those in Oklahoma.

Rother grew up on a farm in Okarche and eventually joined the Catholic priesthood. He volunteered to serve as a missionary in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. In 1981, he was murdered by unknown assailants in his rectory during a violent civil war. He was 46. In 2016, Pope Francis declared him a martyr for the faith — the first recognized Catholic martyr from the United States. He was beatified in a 2017 ceremony in Oklahoma City.

Layton said she knows how special it is to create a Blessed Stanley Rother icon because she created one currently on display at the Catholic Pastoral Center in Oklahoma City. Also, Layton said she already has completed an icon she was commissioned to write for display in the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine being constructed in south Oklahoma City. The shrine's grand opening will be in February.

More:Meet the three priests who will lead Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine church

According to religious scholars, icons are divinely inspired, setting them apart from other artwork. The colorful depictions — rich with symbolism — are a pictorial history of Christianity, they say. Thus, as Layton said, religious leaders typically prefer to say that icons are "written" rather than "painted." They say the images are to be understood in a manner similar to Holy Scripture.

Meanwhile, individuals who gathered to learn from Layton said they were grateful to be a part of the class. Bernadette Rother Stangl, 86, was one of them. She is one of Blessed Stanley Rother's second cousins who attended grade school and high school with him in Okarche.

"This feels so personal," Stangl said as she put finishing touches on her icon.

Others included Emily Clowe, 26, of Ardmore, and Rebecca Thompson, who attends St. James the Greater Catholic Church in south Oklahoma City. Francisco Barrios, 29, stood out among the group because he had traveled from Guatemala to help with a special project on the grounds of Gospel of Life Disciples + Dwellings' St. John Paul II House, 4113 S Eastern, where the workshop was held.

Barrios said he was particularly pleased to be part of Layton's class because of Rother's connection to his homeland.

"I feel very special because this priest served Guatemala, and I am from Guatemala," he said through Annabelle Clark, of Tulsa, another participant who translated his words into English.

"It's a special experience."

Icons provide 'connection with God'

Faulkner said she met Layton when she visited the iconographer's home parish, Holy Family Catholic Church in Lawton. The religious sister said she enjoyed seeing all of the icons displayed throughout the church and invited Layton to teach an iconography class in the Oklahoma City area.

"I was really struck by the beauty of the icons in the church," she said.

It was only fitting that Layton's iconography workshop, held Sept. 19-23, took place in the Blessed Stanley Rother Barn adjacent to the St. John Paul II House. Faulkner founded Gospel of Life Disciples + Dwellings several years ago to provide care for individuals who are terminally ill or at the end of life.

Both Layton and Faulkner said not only do icons tell stories, but they also are designed to connect the faithful to the spiritual world. Layton said icons are tools for prayer.

"It's a connection with God," Layton said, explaining her decision to learn iconography.

"They call them 'windows into heaven' because you look at them and (they) draw you into the spiritual state."

Faulkner expressed similar sentiments.

"It's something to be read. In my experience, it's meant to help us get close in prayer and to draw from the experience of those who came before."

Layton said Blessed Stanley Rother iconography will change once he is declared a saint. She said gold leaf — particularly in the form of a halo — will be incorporated because it is used to write icons of saints.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How Blessed Stanley Rother's story is being told through word pictures