Church to receive painting of Rother
Artist Chuck Schroeder has painted people from all walks of life in his professional career and he recently added "future saint" to his artistic portfolio.
Schroeder, who has Oklahoma ties, will present his oil painting of Blessed Stanley Rother to the l ate priest' s home church on Saturday in Okarche.
The presentation comes as Oklahoma's Catholic faith community and many others prepare to commemorate Rother's feast day, which is Sunday.
R other, an Ok arc he native, was a priest with the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City when he was killed by unknown assailants while serving a parish in Santiago A ti tl an, Guatemala. He was proclaimed a martyr
by Pope Francis in 2016 and he was beatified — the final step before sainthood — in an elaborate ceremony in 2017 in Oklahoma City.
Schroeder, former president and executive director of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, said his friend Joe Wittrock commissioned the painting of Rother. Wittrock and his wife, Dana, are members of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Okarche, which Rother attended growing up in the small Canadian County city.
Schroeder said he was hesitant to take the commission
because he didn't typically paint from photographs.
To the Wittrocks' delight, he eventually agreed to paint the portrait, based on a photograph of Rother blessing a child at the parish church in Santiago Atitlan.
Schroeder currently lives in Eagle, Nebraska, where he spends his time painting after serving as founding director of the University of Nebraska's Rural Futures Initiative for five years. He said he studied numerous books and articles about Rother's life and ministry and was struck by the priest's love for his Guatemalan parishioners and his courage in deciding to return to their civil war-ravaged country where death was a constant threat.
Schroeder said he spent time working on the painting in the Taos, New Mexico, studio of friend Sherrie McGraw, at her invitation.
At one point the idea of painting a man destined to become a saint seemed daunting. He said McGraw helped him put it all in perspective to realize that he would be able to rise to the occasion.
“Sherrie recognized the importance of this project to me as an artist and perhaps to the world of art and she constantly reminded me not to be afraid,” Schroeder said.
“It' s no exaggeration to say that doing this painting changed my life. He's a very powerful figure.”
Friday, Schroeder and Joe Wittrock visited the Oklahoma City archdiocese's Catholic Pastoral Center, where the archdiocese has numerous items related to Rother on display. Looking at his friend's painting, Wittrock said he was more than happy with the artwork.
“It's so ... rich looking,” he said.
Wittrock, one of Rother's cousins, said he was so pleased with Schroeder's work that he has asked the artist to do another painting based on a picture of the priest visiting with a group of Guatemalan children.
A shrine in Rother's honor is being built in south Oklahoma City.
For more information about Rother and the Rother shrine, go online to archokc.org/stanleyrother.