I don't know what the underlined sentence is, because there is none. But, assuming the underlined sentence is "he'd been held up, but at least he was there" you could use the next sentence, "As he rushed down the aisle to the stage, he muttered to himself, "better late than never."" to better understand, because him mentioning that he was late, can help you decipher the meaning of him being held up.
It indicates that the priest has a good standing in the community that he was aware of what was happening to vulnerable people and concerned for their welfare and wanting to make sure they were not left alone and the fact that he asked his question in a loud voice indicates that he felt like his opinion counted.
