>> THE FIRST AMERICAN BORN CATHOLIC MARTYR.

40,000 PEOPLE GATHERED IN OKLAHOMA CITY TO CELEBRATE HIS BEATIFICATION, WHICH IS ONE OF THE FINAL STEPS TOWARDS SAINTHOOD.

FATHER STANLEY IS AN OKLAHOMA MARTYR.

>> HE COULD THE DAY STANLEY WAS BORN, THERE WAS A TERRIBLE DUST STORM AND ONE OF HIS BABY COLTS HAD BROKEN A LEG.

HE HOPED IT WAS NOT A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME.

STANLEY WAS RAISED ON A FARM JUST WEST OF BE -- >> HE GREW UP THE OLDEST SON OF A FARM FAMILY.

NOW, WHAT THAT MEANS IS, ESPECIALLY IN THAT ENVIRONMENT, IS THAT HE LEARNED TO BE INDEPENDENT AND RESPONSIBLE AND HE LEARNED HOW TO GET THINGS DONE.

HE HAD AN AMAZING APTITUDE ABOUT HOW TO FIX THINGS AND FABULOUS CAR PEN TEAR, MASON AND PLUMBER.

>> HE WAS SUCH A QUIET PERSON AND DIDN'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT TO SAY, AND HE DID A LOT OF LEADING WHEN HE WAS IN SCHOOL AND EVEN WHEN HE GOT OUT.

>> RAISED IN A DEEPLY RELIGIOUS HOME, HE FELT GOD CALLING HIM TO THE PRIESTHOOD FROM A YOUNG AGE.

>> STAN WENT THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL AND HE TOOK -- HE WAS THE PRESIDENT AND I THINK IT WAS HIS JUNIOR YEAR, AND THEN WHEN HE GETS OUT HIS SENIOR YEAR, THEN HE'S GOING TO -- HE WANTS TO GO TO THE SEMINARY.

>> WHEN STAN MENTIONED SOMETHING TO ME ABOUT GOING TO THE SEMINARY, I SAID, WHY, STAN, I SAYS, WHY DID YOU -- I SAID, WHY YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE LATIN COURSES.

BUT IT ALL WORKED OUT.

IT JUST ALL SEEMED TO FIT IN.

THERE WAS A REASON FOR IT.

>> EVEN SO, THERE WAS A DIFFERENCE IN THE CHILDREN.

HE DIDN'T TALK THAT MUCH.

BUT HE JUST -- IF HE HAD SOMETHING ON HIS MIND, HE WASN'T GONNA, YOU KNOW, TALK ABOUT IT.

.>> IN EARLY 1960s, POPE ST.

JOHN ASKED CHURCHES OF NORTH AMERICA TO SEND ASSISTANCE AND ESTABLISH MISSIONS IN CENTRAL AMERICA.

THE DYNASTIES OF OKLAHOMA CITY AND TULSA ESTABLISHED A MISSION IN GUATEMALA, A POOR VILLAGE HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS.

A FEW YEARS AFTER HE WAS ORDAINED, FATHER STANLEY ACCEPTED AN INVITATION TO JOIN THE MISSION WHERE HE WOULD FIND HIS LIFE'S CALLING.

>> HE WAS A FARM BOY.

AND HE WAS VERY COMFORTABLE WITH MANUAL LABOR.

AND THAT WAS WHAT WAS REQUIRED.

IT WAS A VERY, VERY POOR VILLAGE.

AND HE HAD TO BE WILLING TO GET HIS HANDS DIRTY WITH HIS PEOPLE.

BUT HE ALSO HAD A REAL HEART FOR THE GOSPEL, AND THEN SERVING THE PEOPLE, TO HELP BUILD UP THEIR FAITH.

>> THOSE PEOPLE, THEY JUST FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM.

EVERY TIME HE'D COME HOME, HE'D BE READY TO GO BACK AGAIN, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE HE MISSED THEM.

>> HOW DID THE PEOPLE TAKE TO HIM?

HE WAS THEIR SAVIOR.THEY GAVE HE CLOSEST THAT THEY COULD GET TO STANLEY BY TRANSLATING INTO A-P-L PERSPECTIVE A-S.

THAT WAS HIS NAME.

>> HE WAS UNLIKE OTHER MISSIONARIES.

HE DIDN'T COME IN WITH A GREAT BIG PROGRAM TO TRY TO CHANGE EVERYTHING.

HE COULD SAY MASS IN THE LANGUAGE, WHICH OTHER PRIESTS BEFORE HIM WERE NOT ABLE TO DO.

>> HE BECAME A NATIVE.

NOT ONLY IN HIS CLOTHING HE WORE, HIS SHOES WERE COBBLED OVER.

HE BECAME AN INDIAN, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

HIS LIFESTYLE, HIS CLOTHING, HIS EATING HABITS AND ALL THAT, HE BECAME ONE OF THEM.

SO HE WAS GOOD FOR IT.

I COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT.

>> FATHER STAN USED HIS EXPERIENCE TO IMPROVE FARMING TECHNIQUES.

HE HELPED ESTABLISH A LOCAL CATHOLIC RADIO STATION THAT THEY COULD USE TO BROADCAST RELIGIOUS PROGRAMS.

THEY ESTABLISHED A SCHOOL TO HELP EDUCATE THE CHILDREN AND THEY STARTED A MEDICAL CLINIC.

>> ONE DAY THE LOADER ON THE MACHINE DOWN ON THE PUMP DOWN IN THE WELL BROKE OR GAVE OUT, OR SOMETHING, BUT ANYWAY, ONE OF THE INDIANS CRAWLED DOWN THERE TO FIX IT.

AND HE WAS DOWN THERE, GAS HAD ACCUMULATED AND IT OVERCAME HIM.

AND STAN GOES DOWN, PICKS HIM UP AND BRINGS HIM BACK UP OUT OF THE WELL AND SAVED HIS LIFE.

BUT THAT'S THE KIND OF GUY HE WAS.

>> HE WAS A VERY HUMBLE MAN.

HE WAS A DOWN TO EARTH MAN.

HE LOVED THE LAND AND HE LOVED THE PEOPLE OF THE LAND.

>> AND OFTEN THOSE WHO WERE SHOWING A CONCERN FOR THE POOR WERE BROAD BRUSH STROKED -- ACCUSED OF BEING MARXIST OR COMMUNIST AND HE WAS SUSPECT, UNFORTUNATELY, FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE WHO HELD A LOT OF POWER.

>> I GOT TO KNOW HIM BEST WHEN HE CAME BACK FOR CLERGY DAYS.

THE FIRST TIME I WENT TO CLERGY DAYS AS A DEACON IN THE DIOCESE IN 1980.

SO HE DIDN'T TALK A LOT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE THREATS AND DIFFICULTIES AND VIOLENCE THERE, AT LEAST DIRECTLY.

BUT IN 1980 HE -- THAT WAS ON EVERYONE'S MIND WITH HIS TIME THERE AND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WERE HAPPENING IN CENTRAL AMERICA AT THAT TIME IN 1979, THE SISTERS WERE KIDNAPPED AND RAPED AND MURDERED IN SALVADOR AND THE ARCHBISHOP WAS KILLED IN '79.

>> IT ALL HAD TO BE DONE -- SOMEONE ACCUSED OF BEING A COMMUNIST.

WE SORT OF SUSPECTED THE HILL COUNTRY OUT IN THE NORTHWEST PART OF THE COUNTRY TO BE THE HIDEOUT FOR THE COMMUNISTS.

THERE WERE NO COMMUNISTS.

>> HE HAD PERSONALLY WITNESS THE KIDNAPPING OF PEOPLE FROM THE CHURCH PROPERTY, TAKEN AWAY IN AN ARMY JEEP, AND THEIR BODIES TORTURED ALMOST BEYOND RECOGNITION.

AND SOMETIMES A BODY MIGHT BE FOUND, BUT THE FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE PERSON WHO HAD DISAPPEARED AND WAS LATER FOUND MURDERED, THEY WERE TERRORIZED AND THEY WERE AFRAID TO GO AND RECOVER HIS BODY BECAUSE THEN THEY MIGHT BE TARGETED BY THE SAME PEOPLE.

AND SO AS A PASTOR, HE SAW HIS DUTY TO MINISTER TO THE FAMILIES, BUT ALSO TO PROVIDE PROPER BURIAL TO THOSE WHO HAD BEEN KILLED.

AND SO HE WOULD, AT GREAT RISK TO HIMSELF, GO OUT AND RECOVER THESE BODIES, CLAIM THESE BODIES, AND BRING THEM BACK TO THE PARISH FOR PROPER BURIAL.

IN THAT SENSE, I WOULD SAY HE WAS FEARLESS.

>> ONE OF THE KIDNAPPINGS TOOK PLACE RIGHT ON THE PORCH OF THE RECTORY AND HE COULDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.

THEY GRABBED THIS CATECHISH AND WERE DRAGGING HIM OFF AND HE WAS SCREAMING, HELP ME.

AND STAN CAME OUT BUT HE SLID TO A HALT.

HE COULDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.

THEY FOUND HIM A COUPLE DAYS LATER, MURDERED, OF COURSE.

>> HE SAID TO ME, IF THEY EVER COME FOR ME, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO TAKE ME AWAY LIKE THAT.

HE SAID, I WOULD RESIST UNTIL THEY HAD TO KILL ME.

HE SAID THIS IN THE SUMMER OF 1980, SO THIS IS A YEAR BEFORE HIS DEATH.

BUT THIS WAS -- HE KNEW THAT THIS WAS A POSSIBILITY, AND HE HAD ALREADY RESOLVED, IN HIS MIND, WHAT THIS WOULD MEAN FOR HIM.

THAT WAS, FOR ME, PROBABLY THE MOST CHILLING THING I EVER HEARD HIM SAY.

>> WHAT PUT HIM IN MOST DANGER WAS THE FACT THAT HE SPOKE THE LANGUAGE IN THE ARMY WHO WAS DOING ALL THE KILLING, THE ARMY SUSPECTED HIM, IF HE KNEW THE LANGUAGE, HE MUST BE IN WITH THEM.

AND ALL A PERSON HAD TO DO IS ACCUSE, AND OFF THEY WENT, HE DISAPPEARED.

HE HAD 32CATECHISTS THAT HE TAUGHT, TEACHING THE PEOPLE.

ALMOST ALL OF THEM WERE MURDERED.

>> IN THE SPRING OF 1981, THE FOUR OTHER PRIESTS AT THE MISSION RETURNED TO THE UNITED STATES.

>> THEY HEARD THEY WERE ON THE DEATH LIST AND THEY LEFT.

HE JUST FINALLY SAID, I'M NOT LEAVING.

THE SHEPHERD MUST NOT ABANDON THE SHEEP.

AND THAT'S WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS.

>> HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS WERE CONCERNED FOR HIS SAFETY, AND HE KNEW THAT HIS NAME HAD BEEN PUT ON A LIST OF PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES WERE IN DANGER, IN DANGER OF BEING KIDNAPPED OR KILLED, AND HE WAS BEING URGED BY SOME PEOPLE TO, ISN'T IT TIME FOR YOU TO COME HOME, YOU KNOW, COME BACK TO OKLAHOMA.

>> HE KNEW HE WAS ON THE DEATH LIST.

AND THE AMERICAN EMBASSY SENT HIM HOME.

>> BACK IN OKLAHOMA, HE SPOKE WITH REPORTERS ABOUT THE SITUATION.

>> YOU'RE AWARE THAT -- BECAUSE OF THE POLITICAL SITUATION, I HAD TO LEAVE, AND I THINK WHEN I GO BACK, MAYBE THAT WILL BE MY -- IT WILL BE DIFFERENT.

I THINK THE BIGGEST NEED THAT WE HAVE IS PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF THE SITUATION, PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF WHAT WE ARE DOING.

>> HE WAS HOME FOR MAYBE TWO, MAYBE THREE MONTHS, BUT HIS PARENTS, FOR INSTANCE, KNEW THAT HE WAS -- THAT HE WAS -- HIS MIND WAS SOMEWHERE ELSE.

THEY SAID HE WOULD SIT AND STARE OFF INTO THE DISTANCE AND NOT TALK, NOT SPEAK, AND HE JUST HAD TO GET BACK.

HE JUST HAD TO GET BACK.

>> THE LAST VISIT WE EVER HAD WAS JUST A FEW WEEKS, ACTUALLY, BEFORE HE WAS KILLED.

AND IT WAS AT THAT TIME HE DESPERATELY WANTED TO GO BACK TO GUATEMALA BUT HE WAS ADVISED NOT TO GO BACK, IT WAS DANGEROUS, HE SHOULD NOT PUT HIMSELF IN THAT POSITION.

BUT HE DID.

HE SAID HE BELONGS WITH HIS PEOPLE.

AND SO I GAVE HIM A BLESSING.

HE LEFT FOR GUATEMALA.

>> IT WAS AFTER MIDNIGHT, JULY 28th, 1981, WHEN THREE MEN CAME THROUGH THE BACK DOOR OF THE CHURCH.

>> HE KNEW, HE KNEW HIS TIME WAS UP.

BUT HE DIDN'T KNOW THAT DAY.

HE WAS IN HIS LIVING ROOM AND WAS LISTENING TO RECORDINGS OF MUSIC.

AND THE LITTLE GUY THAT WAS STAYING WITH HIM WHO WAS ALSO ON THE LIST, THEY GOT HIM WHEN THEY CAME INTO THE HOUSE AND MADE HIM TAKE HIM DOWN TO WHERE STAN WAS, AND HE SAID, FATHER, THEY'RE HERE.

AND THEY GRABBED HIM.

AND THE LITTLE GUY ESCAPED.

THEY HAD HIM DOWN, APPARENTLY, AND HE WAS STRUGGLING WITH THEM.

THEY SHOT HIM AND THE BULLET WENT THROUGH HIM HIM AND LODGED IN THE FLOOR.

>> THERE WERE THREE SISTERS WHO LIVED THERE AT THE CHURCH AND WHEN THEY HEARD THE GUNSHOT, IT WAS ABOUT 1:00 IN THE MORNING.

THEY CAME FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COMPOUND INTO THE HOUSE AND SAW THAT HE HAD BEEN KILLED.

AT THAT TIME, 1981, THERE WAS NO TELEPHONE -- THERE WAS ONE TELEPHONE AT THE POLICE STATION.

SO THEY HAD TO WAIT UNTIL THE EARLY MORNING BUS LEFT THE TOWN TO GO TO THE NEIGHBORING TOWN.

SO ONE WENT TO THE NEIGHBORING TOWN.

>> NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN ACCUSED IN THE MURDER, BUT IT IS WIDELY BELIEVED THAT THE GUNMEN WERE PART OF THE GOVERNMENT SECURITY FORCES THAT OCCUPIED THE TOWN.

BY MORNING, THE NEWS.

>> THEY COME OUT TO TELL ME.

SEEING THIS CAR DRIVE UP AND WHEN FATHER BECKMAN GOT OUT OF THE CAR, I RAISED UP AND I SAID, FATHER, I SAID, THEY DIDN'T GET HIM OUT OF THE HOUSE, DID THEY?

I KNEW, JUST THE MINUTE I SEEN HIM, HE WAS JUST AS PALE AND -- YOU COULD TELL THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING.

HE SAYS, NO, HE SAID, BUT STAN TOLD ME, HE SAYS, IF I -- IF THEY EVER COME AND GET ME, THEY'RE NOT GONNA GET ME OUT OF THE HOUSE.

>> AS THE SUN CAME UP, PEOPLE BEGAN TO GATHER OUTSIDE THE MISSION.

>> THERE MUST HAVE BEEN 5,000 IN FRONT OF THAT CHURCH, PACKED IN THE YARD, ALL OF THEM DRESSED THEMSELVES WITH STRAW HATS, SPECIAL STRAW HATS.

A SEA OF STRAW HATS POINTING TOWARD THE CHURCH WHEN THEY -- THEY COULD BARELY MOVE THE AMBULANCE TO GET HIM OUT OF THE TOWN.

>> THERE WAS A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE AMERICAN EMBASSY WHO ARRIVED TO THE VILLAGE, AND HE WROTE, ALL THE PEOPLE GATHERED -- HE SAID, ALL THE PEOPLE GATHERED IN THE CHURCH AND IN THE SQUARE IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH.

AND HE SAID, THERE WAS COMPLETE SILENCE.

HE SAID, IT LOOKED LIKE THEIR GOD HAD DIED.

>> THEY DIDN'T WANT TO LET HIM GO.

OF COURSE, UNDERSTANDABLY, HIS FAMILY WANTED TO BRING HIS BODY BACK FOR BURIAL, BUT THE PEOPLE WANTED TO HOLD ONTO HIM BECAUSE HE WAS SO MUCH A PART OF THEIR LIVES AND THEIR COMMUNITY.

AND SO THEY WORKED OUT AN AGREEMENT, A BEAUTIFUL AGREEMENT, REALLY, THAT THIS MAN WHO HAD GIVEN HIS HEART TO SERVE THE PEOPLE AND GIVEN HIS LIFE TO SERVE THE PEOPLE THERE, THEY KEPT HIS HEART.

LITERALLY THEY KEPT HIS HEART FOR BURIAL IN GUATEMALA, IN HIS PARISH CHURCH.

>> THE FATHER'S BODY WAS RETURNED AND BURIED IN A SMALL PLOT NOT FAR FROM THE FARM WHERE HE GREW UP.

ON THE HEADSTONE IS THE NAME HE WAS GIVEN BY THE PEOPLE HE LOVED SO MUCH.

>> AS SOON AS I HEARD THAT THE FATHER WAS DEAD, THAT HE HAD BEEN KILLED, I BEGAN TO CALL HIM A MARTYR, BECAUSE A MARTYR IS A WITNESS, IS A PERSON WHO DIES FOR THE FAITH, BUT WE ALL KNEW THAT HE WAS A MARTYR.

BUT THEN THERE WERE OTHER PRIESTS WHO WERE SHOT, TOO, BUT THEY WERE ACTUALLY -- THEY WERE RILING UPTHE PEOPLE.

BUT STAN WASN'T.

>> I SPOKE TO THE BISHOP, WHO WAS AN ITALIAN MAN, AND AN ARCHBISHOP, AND THE THREE OF US ALL AGREED, HE'S A SAINT, HE'S A MARTYR.

HE SHOULD BE CANONIZED.

OF COURSE, THE TIMES WERE TURBULENT, PLUS THE CHURCH IS VERY SLOW IN MAKING ANY KIND OF PROCLAMATION ABOUT MARTYRDOM OR SANCTITY.

>> AFTER 35 YEARS OF INVESTIGATION, POPE FRANCIS SIGNED THE DECREE AS MARTYRDOM AT THE VATICAN IN 2016.

>> POPE FRANCIS HAS DECLARED HIM A MARTYR OF THE CHURCH, SO HE IS THE FIRST AMERICAN-BORN MARTYR FOR THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, THE FIRST AMERICAN-BORN CATHOLIC PRIEST WHO WILL BE BEE AT BEATI.

>> THERE'S ANOTHER STEP CALLED CANONIZATION, THAT COULD BE YEARS AGAIN.

IT DEPENDS ON THINGS.

WHETHER THERE'S A MIRACLE.

>> MANY PEOPLE FROM THE VILLAGE CLAIM EXTRAORDINARY THINGS HAPPENED AFTER PRAYING TO THE PADRE.

THEIR TESTIMONY HAS BEEN TAKEN AND THEY ARE EXPECTED TO SPEAK WITHSTANDLY'S COUSIN SANDRA.

>> IT WAS JULY 3, 1992, WHICH WAS ABOUT 25 YEARS AGO, WHICH WAS 11 YEARS AFTER FATHER STAN WAS MURDERED, AND I WAS FOUND NOT BREATHING, TURNING BLUE, VIA AMBULANCE TO THE LOCAL HOSPITAL AND THEY DECLARED ME DEAD.

>> SHE WAS AT DEATH'S DOOR.

THEY WERE TALKING ORGAN TRANSPLANTS.

>> HIS COUSIN HAD AN ANEURYSM AT THE BOTTOM OF HER BRAIN, AND IT BROKE, OF COURSE, AND SHE WAS OUT AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HER, BUT SHE WAS UNCONSCIOUS.

AND THEY EXAMINED HER AND ALL OF THIS AND THEY SAID, THERE'S NO HOPE FOR HER.

>> SANDRA HAD A HEMORRHAGE I CAN HEMORRHAGIC STROKEIN HER CORTEX.

IT'S A RARE CONDITION THAT ONLY ONE IN 10 VICTIMS SURVIVE.

>> THE DOCTOR GAVE MY PARENTS A CHOICE, HE SAID, YOU KNOW, WE CAN MEDICATE HER AND HOPE THAT SHE COMES OUT OF THIS BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, OR, TWO, WE CAN OPERATE, AND SHE COULD HEMORRHAGE TO DEATH.

IF SHE LIVES, SHE WILL BE A VEGETABLE, SHE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO WALK OR TALK OR LIVE A NORMAL LIFE AGAIN.

SO, ANYHOW, BY THE GRACE OF GOD, MY MOM AND DAD SAID, BRING HER E FAMILY HAD TO SAY THEIR GOODBYE.

AND THIS IS WHERE FATHER STAN COMES INTO THE PICTURE.

AND MY DAD THEN CALLED THE PARISH PRIEST AT THAT TIME, FATHER MARVIN, AND DAD TOLD FATHER MARVIN LEVIN, SHE DOESN'T HAVE A CHANCE, THEY'RE NOT GIVING HER ANY CHANCE.

AND HE SAID, LEO, WORRY NO MORE, I'M GOING TO PUT THIS IN THE HANDS OF FATHER, IT IS TIME THAT HE PERFORMED A MIRACLE.

SO FATHER LEVIN WENT OUT TO THE GRAVE SITE AT THE CEMETERY AND PRAYED THAT HE.

.HE CAME TO THE HOSPITAL AND TOD MY MOM AND DAD THAT THERE'S NO NEED TO WORRY, FATHER IS GOING TO TAKE CARE OF IT, HE'S GOING TO SEE THAT MY LIFE IS SAVED AND SPARED.

THEY PRAYED AND THEY PRAYED FOR A SIGN TO JUST HELP THEM, AND IT WAS SHORTLY AFTER THAT THE PHONE RANG IN THE HOSPITALITY ROOM THEY WERE IN, AND THE VOICE ON THE OTHER END OF THE PHONE TOLD THEM THAT I OPENED MY EYES.

>> IMPOSSIBLE FOR HER TO SURVIVE, AND THE VERY SAME PERSON TOLD ME ME, OVER IN THE CORNER, SHE SAID WHEN THEY CAME -- WHEN SHE CAME OUT OF IT, SHE ASKED, WHO WERE YOU PRAYING TO.

AND I SAID TO FATHER STAN.

WE HAVE TO TAKE THAT ON FAITH.

>> SANDRA WAS RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL 77 DAYS AFTER SHE WAS ADMITTED, WITH FEW LASTING EFFECTS AND NO BRAIN DAMAGE.

THERE'S NO DOUBT IN SANDRA'S MIND THAT THIS WAS THE WORK OF FATHER STANLEY.

DURING A VISIT TO SANTIAGO IN 1986 ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH, HIS PARENTS FRANZ AND GERTRUDE WALKED THE STREETS OF THE VILLAGE THEIR SON LOVED SO MUCH, AND EVEN VISIT THE ROOM WHERE HE WAS KILLED.

>> THEY TOOK THIS CONTAINER WITH HIS HEART AND MOVED IT TO THE SHRINE THEY BUILT NEAR THE ENTRANCE OF THE CHURCH SO WHEN YOU WALK INTO THE CHURCH BUILDING ITSELF, IN THE MAIN DOOR, IMMEDIATELY TO THE RIGHT IS A SHRINE, AND THERE THEY HAVE HIS HEART AND PEOPLE CAN GO AND KNEEL BEFORE THE HEART OR STAND BEFORE THE HEART AND PRAY TO FATHER STAN.

AND I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT IS DONE EVERY SINGLE DAY.

HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE MARCH PAST THAT SHRINE EVERY DAY AND STOP THERE AND PRAY.

>> WHEN WE WERE AT THE 30th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FATHER'S DEATH IN GUATEMALA, A GROUP OF US FROM OKLAHOMA HAD GONE, WE WERE IN THE CHURCH.

THIS IS A CHURCH BUILT IN 1547.

THE CHURCH THAT IS STILL IN USE IN GUATEMALA.

AND WE WERE SITTING THERE, AND AT THE VERY END OF MASS, THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR WALKED IN WITH HIS WIFE AND HIS FAMILY AND HIS ENTOURAGE, AND AT THE VERY END HE STANDS UP, AND THE MOST IMPRESSIVE THING I HAVE EVER SEEN, HE SPEAKS IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE.

NOW, THAT'S ONLY SPOKEN BY 35,000 PEOPLE IN THE WHOLE WORLD IN TWO VILLAGES ON THE SHORE OF THIS LAKE.

AND HE ASKS THEM IN THEIR LANGUAGE, IS STANLEY DEAD OR IS HE ALIVE?

AND THE WHOLE CHURCH RESPONDED, ALIVE.

WELL, THAT'S WHAT THE LIFE OF BEING A SAINT IS.

THIS PERSON ISN'T DEAD.

THEY STOPPED BREATHING, THAT'S ALL.

>> 20,000 PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD GATHERED IN OKLAHOMA CITY TO CELEBRATE THE SHEPHERD WHO WOULD NOT RUN.

A CARDINAL TRAVELED FROM THE VATICAN TO PROCLAIM THE MAN AS A TRUE MARTYR OF THE FAITH WHO DIED SPREADING THE WORD OF CHRIST.

>> HIS MARTYRDOM, IT FILLS US WITH SADNESS, BUT ALSO GIVES US JOY, ADMIRING THE KINDNESS, GENEROSITY AND COURAGE OF A GREAT MAN OF FAITH.

HIS YEARS SPENT AS A MISSIONARY IN GUATEMALA WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED AS GLORIOUS, LIGHTING A TORCH FOR THE CHURCH AND FOR THE WORLD.

>> IN MY TOWN THERE'S A LOT OF PARADES, A LOT OF MUSIC, EVERYONE SCREAMING IN THE STREETS.

WE ARE REALLY HAPPY AND FULL OF JOY.

>> BEATIFICATION IS A STEP TOWARDS SAINTHOOD.

IF THE FATHER IS CANONIZED, THE POPE WOULD PERFORM THE CEREMONY IN ROME BUT NO ONE KNOWS IF OR WHEN THAT MAY BE.

>> >> SOME OF THEM ARE A HUNDRED YEARS, BUT THOSE WERE IN THE OLD DAYS.

THINGS MOVE FASTER TODAY.

AND I THINK THAT BECAUSE OF THE PRESENT POPE, IT WILL BE FASTER BECAUSE HE WANTS THINGS DONE TODAY, NOT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED 200 YEARS AGO.

>> YOU MEAN YOU'VE GOT A BROTHER THAT'S GOING TO BE A SAINT?

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?

AND OF COURSE I COULDN'T HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT.

I JUST WENT -- CHANGED THE SUBJECT RIGHT QUICK.

>> YEAH, I PRAY TO HIM ALL THE TIME.

WHEN I HAVE A PROBLEM, I SAY, HEY, STAN, WHAT'S GOING ON.

>> THE CIVIL WAR IN GUATEMALA WENT ON 25 YEARS WITH 100,000 MURDERED IN THIS SMALL CENTRAL AMERICAN COUNTRY.

ALMOST ALL THE VICTIMS WERE LOCALS.

ALMOST ALL OF THEM POOR.

AND THE PEOPLE WHO WERE IN CHARGE THEN ARE STILL IN CHARGE TODAY.

THE MAN WHO MURDERED THE FATHER HAVE NEVER BEEN CAUGHT.

WHOEVER THEY WERE AND WHATEVER THEY HOPED TO ACCOMPLISH, THEY FAILED.

FATHER STANLEY IS ALIVE IN THE VILLAGE OF SANTIAGO.

HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY SAY THEY ARE EXCITED NOT JUST FOR THE CHURCH IN OKLAHOMA BUT FOR ALL THE PEOPLE OF OKLAHOMA, THAT WE HAVE SUCH A ROBUST HEROIC FIGURE TO GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR, FOR HIS GENEROSITY, HIS DEDICATION, AND FOR WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE LIFE AND DEATH OF FATHER STANLEY ROETHER, THIS OKLAHOMA MARTYR.