Father Stanley Rother Banner, Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, OK
Rambusch was pleased to have been selected by Archbishop Paul Coakley and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to develop the official image and decorative border for the banner that hung in the Cathedral at the beatification of Father Stanley Rother, an Oklahoma native.
Canonization banners are a tradition in the Catholic Church dating back to the 13th century. The image of the holy person is traditionally placed in a tapestry frame and suspended on the façade of the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome.
The Rambusch Company has designed and produced the banners depicting St. John Neumann and St. Katharine Drexel, which hung on St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome for their canonizations.
Rambusch was pleased to have been selected by Archbishop Paul Coakley and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to develop the official image and decorative border for the banner that hung in the Cathedral at the beatification of Father Stanley Rother, an Oklahoma native. Working closely with the Beatification Committee, Rambusch developed the central image of the priest, as well as an outer decorative frame with references to the life and ministry of Father Rother.
During the Beatification Mass, the official fabric banner for Blessed Stanley Rother was unveiled, depicting Blessed Stanley Rother standing in front of his parish mission in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. He holds a copy of the New Testament, which he translated into Tzutujil, the language of the Guatemalan people. The church where he served and the rectory where he was killed are presented to the right of Father Rother with volcanoes in the background.
Each corner of the banner depicts a parish or seminary that was significant in Blessed Stanley’s life. Clockwise from bottom left — 1) Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Okarche, OK; 2) Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD; 3) Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa; and 4) The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Oklahoma City, where he was ordained.
At the bottom, Oklahoma native plants and produce — Indian paintbrush, corn and wheat — flank the crest of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma¬, Father Stanley’s birthplace and site of the beatification. The agricultural skills and knowledge Father Rother had learned in his youth would serve him well in Guatemala, where he helped to develop crops for food and sale.
The upper groupings contain Guatemalan flowers, lilies and orchids, the palms of martyrdom. The crest is the personal crest of Pope Francis, who was Pope at the time of the beatification.
