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$50M shrine to honor slain priest, first US Catholic martyr

FILE - The book of gospels is carried in a processional before the Mass during the Beatification Ceremony for Stanley Rother in Oklahoma City, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. The 46-year-old priest, shot to death in 1981, became the Catholic Church’s first martyr to be born in the United States. Now a $50 million shrine built to honor the slain missionary — killed by three masked assassins who entered his rectory during Guatemala’s civil war — is expected to draw thousands of pilgrims to his home state. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) Rev. Don Wolf, a cousin of the Blessed Stan Rother, stands in the main church at the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, in Oklahoma City. Wolf will serve as the shrine's first rector. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Finishing touches are put on a museum including artifacts from the church of the Blessed Stanley Rother in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, in Oklahoma City. The museum will be a part of the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine. The 46-year-old priest, shot to death in 1981, became the Catholic Church’s first martyr to be born in the United States. Now a $50 million shrine built to honor the slain missionary is expected to draw thousands of pilgrims to his home state. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) A display in the museum that is part of the The Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine is pictured Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, in Oklahoma City. The 46-year-old priest, shot to death in 1981, became the Catholic Church’s first martyr to be born in the United States. Now a $50 million shrine built to honor the slain missionary — killed by three masked assassins who entered his rectory during Guatemala’s civil war — is expected to draw thousands of pilgrims to his home state. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) A display in the museum that is part of the The Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine is pictured Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, in Oklahoma City. The 46-year-old priest, shot to death in 1981, became the Catholic Church’s first martyr to be born in the United States. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) The Chapel at the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, pictured Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, in Oklahoma City, will become the final resting place for Rother. In December 2016, Pope Francis officially recognized Rother as a martyr for his faith. In September 2017, in the final step before sainthood, Rother was beatified at a special Mass that drew an estimated 20,000 people to an Oklahoma City convention center. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Rev. Don Wolf, a cousin of the Blessed Stanley Rother, stands by a statue of Rother in a chapel at the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, in Oklahoma City. Wolf will serve as the shrine's first rector. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Work continues on the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, in Oklahoma City. A dedication Mass set for Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, will mark the official opening of the shrine, honoring Stanley Francis Rother, a missionary from Oklahoma, who was killed in Guatemala in 1981. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) FILE - Sister Marita Rother gives a reading during Mass during the Beatification Ceremony for her brother, Blessed Stanley Rother, in Oklahoma City, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. At rear is a large banner with the image of Blessed Stanley Rother. The 46-year-old priest, shot to death in 1981, became the Catholic Church’s first martyr to be born in the United States. Now a $50 million shrine built to honor the slain missionary is expected to draw thousands of pilgrims to his home state. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) Work continues on the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, in Oklahoma City. A dedication Mass set for Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, will mark the official opening of the shrine, honoring Stanley Francis Rother, a missionary from Oklahoma, who was killed in Guatemala in 1981. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Work continues on the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, in Oklahoma City. A dedication Mass set for Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, will mark the official opening of the shrine, honoring Stanley Francis Rother, a missionary from Oklahoma, who was killed in Guatemala in 1981. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Work continues on the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, in Oklahoma City. A dedication Mass set for Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, will mark the official opening of the shrine, honoring Stanley Francis Rother, a missionary from Oklahoma, who was killed in Guatemala in 1981. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
$50M shrine to honor slain priest, first US Catholic martyr