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Tens of thousands converged on Oklahoma City recently to attend the beatification of Father Stanley Rother, an Okarche, Oklahoma native.
Rother was murdered in 1981 while serving at his parish in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. In 2016, Pope Francis declared Rother a martyr for his service and sacrifice. He is the first U.S.-born priest named a martyr by the Roman Catholic Church.
The beatification was held in downtown Oklahoma City at the Cox Convention Center on Sept. 23 and approximately 20,000 attended. Cardinal Angelo Amato presided over the ceremony, which puts Father Rother one step closer to sainthood.
