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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The final beam was put into place as crews continue construction of a shrine for a beloved Oklahoma priest who was killed in Guatemala.

Blessed Stanley Rother is well-known in the Catholic community for his mission work in Guatemala.

Blessed Stanley Rother
Blessed Stanley Rother

Rother served in Guatemala during the country’s civil war, which was a dangerous time to be a leader of a church. In 1981, he was murdered for his faith.

“He had courage that he wanted to stay and go back to Guatemala to share his faith and share the love that he had of his people and then that love is gonna be transferred here to Oklahoma,” said Theresa Hurt.  

Rother was beatified by the Catholic Church, making him the first U.S. born person to be recognized as a martyr and beatified.

Last week, hundreds of Oklahomans and the Archbishop of Oklahoma City signed their names to a beam that will permanently become part of the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine.  

On Tuesday, crews lifted the final steel beam into place.

The shrine won’t be completed until 2022.