Chapel to be named for martyred Oklahoma priest

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A new chapel in central Oklahoma will be dedicated in honor of a martyred priest from the state.

Enid News reports that the Blessed Stanley Rother Chapel will be located at the Center of Family Love, an organization committed to helping people with disabilities. The Most Rev. Paul Coakley, archbishop of Oklahoma, will lead the celebration at the chapel in Okarche on Thursday.

The chapel will serve the 130 adults who live at the center, their families, friends and the community.

Rother, an Okarche native, was serving as a missionary in Guatemala when he was killed in 1981. He was 46.

Pope Francis declared Rother the first U.S.-born martyr in December. It’s only the second beatification to be held in the U.S. Beatification is a step toward potential sainthood.