Documentary on Oklahoma-born priest martyred in Guatemala comes to theaters in August
Blessed Stanley Rother, who was murdered in 1981 after returning to keep serving the faithful of Santiago Atitlan, has become known as “the shepherd who didn’t run.”
A documentary the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Fathom Entertainment created about Blessed Stanley Rother, the first American-born priest to be recognized as a martyr by the Catholic Church, will premiere in theaters nationwide in August.
“American Martyr: The Stanley Rother Story,” which is produced by Lampstand Story Company, includes firsthand testimonies, footage, and sharp storytelling, according to a press release from the archdiocese.
“Blessed Stanley Rother's story begins in the fields of Oklahoma and leads to the mountains of Guatemala, where he gave his life in service to the people he loved,” Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City said in the release. “Faced with credible threats to his life, he could have remained safely at home. Instead, he chose to return to his parish because he believed a shepherd does not abandon his flock.”
Bl. Rother was born in 1935 in Okarche, Oklahoma, and grew up on a farm, a lifestyle that cultivated virtues such as discipline and perseverance. According to the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, he discerned a priestly vocation in high school and later entered a seminary in San Antonio, Texas. He finished his studies at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and was ordained in 1963. After five years of serving as an associate pastor in his home state, he began his ministry at the Oklahoma diocese’s mission in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, according to the shrine.
Accustomed to hard work through his farming background, Bl. Rother connected with the local community of native Mayans, particularly the Tz’utujil people, by helping them in the fields of land where they resided and building an irrigation system, the shrine notes. He also ministered to those with medical needs and celebrated the sacraments, as well as Mass, in the local language.
Bl. Rother “immersed himself in [the Tz’utujil people’s] culture, learned their language and helped translate the News Statement into Tz’utujil, becoming a beloved shepherd to the community he served,” the release states.
During his ministry in Guatemala, the country suffered from a civil war marked by deadly violence between the militarist government forces and guerrilla forces, according to the shrine. Thousands of Catholics were killed during the war, and as religious persons continued to carry out catechesis, the danger intensified. Bl. Rother’s name was written on a list of people who were targets to be killed, the shrine states, and for his and his associate’s safety, the priest went back to Oklahoma. However, Bl. Rother soon expressed a desire to return back to his flock in Guatemala, famously saying, “The shepherd cannot run.”
Several months after he returned to Guatemala in 1981, three men entered Bl. Rother’s rectory and killed him.
“The people of Santiago Atitlan mourned the loss of their leader and friend,” the shrine states. “They requested that Father Rother’s heart be kept in Guatemala where it remains enshrined today.”
Pope Francis officially recognized Bl. Rother as a martyr for the faith in 2016. He was beatified in 2017 in Oklahoma City.
María Ruiz Scaperlanda, who has promoted Bl. Rother’s cause for canonization, described the priest as “an ordinary man who responded to God's call with extraordinary courage, ultimately laying down his life for the people he served in Guatemala.”
“Through ‘American Martyr: The Stanley Rother Story,’ audiences will encounter not only a compelling true story, but also a powerful example of holiness, sacrifice and missionary discipleship,” she said in the release. “My hope is that this film will inspire countless people to discover Blessed Stanley's life, seek his intercession and recognize that sainthood is possible for ordinary men and women who faithfully follow Christ wherever He leads.”
Archbishop Coakley said Bl. Rother’s “witness of courage, fidelity and sacrificial love is as relevant today as ever.”
“‘American Martyr: The Stanley Rother Story’ offers audiences an opportunity to encounter the inspiring true story of a remarkable priest,” Archbishop Coakley said, “whose faith led him to the ultimate act of discipleship.”
