About Blessed Stanley Rother · Decatur, Arkansas
Blessed Stanley Rother Church is a Spanish-language Catholic mission in Decatur, Arkansas, in Benton County, belonging to the West Ozark Deanery of the Diocese of Little Rock. It is historically notable as the very first church in the world to bear the name of Blessed Stanley Rother, the Oklahoma-born priest-martyr of Guatemala who was beatified on September 23, 2017, the day before the mission was canonically established on September 24, 2017, by Bishop Anthony B. Taylor. The community of roughly 95 parishioners — largely immigrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico, many working in northwest Arkansas poultry plants — worships in a renovated former Baptist church on Hill Avenue, attended by priests from St. Joseph Church in nearby Tontitown.
- Established
- 2014
- Patron
- Blessed Stanley Rother (priest and martyr)
- Rector
- Fr. Balaraju Akkala (mission is attended from St. Joseph Church, Tontitown)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Little Rock (West Ozark Deanery)
Why belong here
Blessed Stanley Rother is a warm, immigrant Catholic family — about 45 households of Guatemalan, Salvadoran, and Mexican faithful — who gather weekly for Spanish-language Mass in a humble, former Baptist church they have made their own. As the very first church in the world named for the U.S.'s first beatified priest-martyr, the community shares a special bond with Blessed Stanley, a shepherd who refused to abandon his people. It offers religious education for children from kindergarten through 12th grade, sacramental life (baptisms, first Communions, confirmations), Eucharistic Adoration on Thursday evenings, and Saturday confession, all under the pastoral care of St. Joseph Church in Tontitown.
Mass times at Blessed Stanley Rother
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 5:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Adoration times
- Thursday 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
History of Blessed Stanley Rother Mission
The Catholic community of Decatur was born in March 2014 when Fr. Salvador Márquez-Muñoz began celebrating a weekly Spanish Mass for immigrant families working in northwest Arkansas. Over the next three and a half years the congregation moved from a community center, to a local high school, and finally into a rented former Baptist church at 758 Hill Avenue. The decisive moment came on September 24, 2017 — the day after Blessed Stanley Rother's beatification in Oklahoma City — when Bishop Anthony B. Taylor formally erected the community as a mission, the first church in the world to bear his name. Bishop Taylor praised the lay initiative and the dedication of Fr. Salvador, calling the patronage 'doubly appropriate' because Blessed Stanley served the Tz'utujil people of Guatemala, the homeland of many Decatur parishioners.
- First official Mass: March 25, 2014 (Fr. Salvador Márquez-Muñoz)
- Mission formally established: September 24, 2017
- Bishop Anthony B. Taylor presided at the dedication
- Catholic Extension Francis Grant awarded the mission $2,500 at its founding
Patron: Blessed Stanley Rother
Stanley Francis Rother (March 27, 1935 – July 28, 1981) was an Oklahoma farmer's son ordained for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City in 1963. He served as a missionary priest in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala, from 1968 until his murder in his rectory by masked gunmen on July 28, 1981, during Guatemala's civil war. Pope Francis confirmed him a martyr on December 1, 2016, and he was beatified in Oklahoma City on September 23, 2017. He is the first U.S.-born priest and first U.S. martyr to be beatified. His Optional Memorial is celebrated July 28 each year in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, the Diocese of Little Rock, and the Diocese of Sololá, Guatemala. His major shrine is the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine in Oklahoma City.
- Feast Day: July 28 (anniversary of his martyrdom)
- Declared a martyr by Pope Francis on December 1, 2016
- Beatified September 23, 2017 in Oklahoma City
Parish Staff and Leadership
The mission is pastored from St. Joseph Church in Tontitown, the parish from which it is 'attended.' The current pastor is Fr. Balaraju Akkala. Day-to-day parish operations are supported by an Administrative Assistant, Carlos Hernandez, and a Director of Religious Education, Esbeydi Escobar Ricardez. The Administration Manager position is presently vacant.
- Pastor: Fr. Balaraju Akkala
- Administrative Assistant: Carlos Hernandez ([email protected])
- Director of Religious Education: Esbeydi Escobar Ricardez (479) 233-1911 ([email protected])
- Administration Manager: Vacant
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 39, Tontitown, AR 72770
Faith Formation and Sacraments
Religious education for children from kindergarten through 12th grade is offered in the small parish hall before Saturday evening Mass, taught under the direction of DRE Esbeydi Escobar Ricardez. In the year preceding the 2023 One Church appeal, the mission celebrated six baptisms, seven confirmations, and eight first Holy Communions — a testament to the sacramental life of a young, growing community where 40% of attendees are youth and children.
- K–12 religious education before Saturday Mass
- Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation preparation
- Reconciliation offered Saturday afternoons before Mass
Community and Immigration Background
The mission is built around roughly 45 families — about 95 regular attendees — who are immigrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico. Many work in the poultry plants that anchor the economy of northwest Arkansas. Fr. Arokiasamy Madhichettyirudayaraj described the parish this way in 2023: 'Blessed Stanley Rother Church was founded to feed the members with the spiritual nourishment, those who feed the people in Arkansas with their hard work in the chicken plants.' Some members are undocumented and lack driver's licenses, making the local church a vital gathering place for a population that would otherwise be cut off from Catholic life.
- Majority of parishioners from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico
- Many work in regional poultry plants
- 40% of the community is youth or children
Building and 2023 Renovation Campaign
The mission's home at 758 Hill Avenue is a 2,200-square-foot cinder-block former Baptist church with an 80-seat sanctuary and a small parish hall. In 2023 the Diocese of Little Rock selected Blessed Stanley Rother Mission for its One Church initiative, seeking $101,000 to replace a leaky roof, install new flooring, plumbing, ceiling, insulation, windows, lighting, doors, and a new HVAC system, and to add a storage building. The pastor noted the building was badly in need of renovation and that the area is growing rapidly, with new families arriving in northwest Arkansas and moving gradually toward Decatur.
- Top priority: new roof to stop leaks
- New HVAC, flooring, plumbing, insulation, windows, doors, lighting
- New storage building planned
- $101,000 renovation budget; One Church appeal launched 2023
Deanery and Diocese
Blessed Stanley Rother Mission belongs to the West Ozark Deanery of the Diocese of Little Rock, and is one of the smaller communities the diocese supports through initiatives like One Church and the Catholic Extension Society. It is pastorally linked to St. Joseph Church in Tontitown, from which it receives priestly ministry.
- Diocese: Little Rock (Arkansas)
- Deanery: West Ozark
- Attended from: St. Joseph Church, Tontitown (Fr. Balaraju Akkala)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Salvador Márquez-Muñoz2014–c. 2017/2022
Celebrated the first official Mass in Decatur on March 25, 2014, and shepherded the community through its establishment as a mission in September 2017. Bishop Taylor singled out his dedication in the homily.
- Fr. Arokiasamy 'Samy' Madhichettyirudayarajfrom July 2022
Pastor of St. Joseph Church in Tontitown who also led Blessed Stanley Rother Mission; oversaw the One Church renovation appeal in 2023.
- Fr. Balaraju Akkalacurrent
Listed as pastor of Blessed Stanley Rother Church on the Diocese of Little Rock directory; also listed as pastor of St. Joseph, Tontitown.