Guatemalan Bishop Julio Edgar Cabrera, right, looks over a Rother Family photo book with Juan Pablo Ixbalan, left, at the Rother Family home in Okarche, Okla, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. Stanley Rother, an American priest killed during Guatemala's civil war, is on the path to possible sainthood. Ixbalan knew Rother during his time in Guatemala. A ceremony for Rother's Beatification is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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OKARCHE, Okla. (AP) - The Latest on a beatification mass starts for 1st US martyr (all times local):
10:10 a.m.
The Catholic mass is underway to beatify an Oklahoma-born priest killed during Guatemala's civil war.
The Rev. Stanley Rother (ROW-THUR) was born in Okarche, Oklahoma, and died in 1981. He was one of several Roman Catholic priests who were killed in the war.
Choirs sang hymns in English and Spanish as thousands crowded into an Oklahoma convention center Saturday for the ceremony. The church asked parishioners not to save seats as lines wrapped around the outside of the building. Some people were turned away.
Pope Francis declared Rother a martyr in December. Beatification is a step toward potential sainthood.
This is only the second beatification held in the United States.
12:11 a.m.
An American priest killed during Guatemala's civil war is set to be beatified in his home state of Oklahoma, and he's on the path to possible sainthood.
Thousands of people are expected to attend a beatification mass Saturday for the Rev. Stanley Rother (ROW-THUR) in Oklahoma City. Pope Francis declared Rother the first U.S.-born martyr in December.
Rother was born in Okarche, Oklahoma. He died in 1981, one of several Roman Catholic priests slain during the war.
Francis, the first Latin American pope, has said priests killed during region's right-wing dictatorships died out of hatred for their faith.
Regular candidates for beatification need a Vatican-certified miracle attributed to their intercession, but the church has made an exception for martyrs. A miracle is still necessary to be declared a saint.
A statue in tribute to Father Stanley Rother stands on the grounds of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Okarche, Okla, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. Rother was an American priest killed during Guatemala's civil war, who is on the path to possible sainthood. A ceremony for Rother's Beatification is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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Sister Marita Rother, center, talks with Fr. John Peter Swaminathan, left, current pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, and a visitor from the Guatemalan delegation, right, in the yard of the Rother Family home in Okarche, Okla, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. A ceremony for Marita's brother Stanley Rother's Beatification is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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In this photo provided by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Father Stanley Rother is pictured in an undated photo in Guatemala. Rother, an American priest killed during Guatemala's civil war, is on the path to possible sainthood. A ceremony for Rother's Beatification is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. (Archdiocese of Oklahoma City Photo via AP)
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Stairs in the Rother Family home are painted with the names of Stanley Rother and his brothers and sisters in Okarche, Okla, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. Rother was an American priest killed during Guatemala's civil war. He is on the path to possible sainthood after Pope Francis declared him a martyr. A ceremony for Rother's Beatification is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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Sister Marita Rother, left, and Guatemalan Bishop Julio Edgar Cabrera, right, pose for a photo in the Rother Family home in Okarche, Okla, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. Sister Marita, born Elizabeth Mary Rother, is the sister of Stanley Rother, an American priest killed during Guatemala's civil war, who is on the path to possible sainthood. A ceremony for Rother's Beatification is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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A gift shop at Holy Trinity Catholic Church carries items pertaining to Father Stanley Rother in Okarche, Okla, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. Rother was an American priest killed during Guatemala's civil war who is on the path to possible sainthood. A ceremony for Rother's Beatification is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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Guatemalan Bishop Julio Edgar Cabrera, center, leads a prayer in the Rother Family home in Okarche, Okla, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. Father Stanley Rother was an American priest killed during Guatemala's civil war, who is on the path to possible sainthood. A ceremony for Rother's Beatification is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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A tribute to Father Stanley Rother is displayed inside Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Okarche, Okla, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. Holy Trinity was the childhood church of Stanley Rother, an American priest killed during Guatemala's civil war, who is on the path to possible sainthood. A ceremony for Rother's Beatification is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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