CBB Review – The Shepherd Who Didn’t Run

I first learned of Father Stanley Rother merely by chance. Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg Maryland is a short drive away from my home. I take the 30-minute trek there annually to attend a Men’s Conference as well as to listen to some speakers they bring in. Inside Patriot Hall where the campus cafeteria is, there is a timeline filled with pictures of those who have visited or been a part of the Mount’s history. There mixed in with pictures of Babe Ruth, Mother Teresa and others is a lone picture of Father Stanley Rother, Mount Saint Mary’s alum and martyr. When I heard of the book The Shepherd Who Didn’t Run: Fr. Stanley Rother, Martyr from OklahomaI knew I had to get it on my “to read” pile.

Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda tells the story of Father Stanley, the simple son of a farmer, whose love of God led him to the priesthood and missionary life in Guatemala. Father Stanley was ordained to the priesthood in 1963. His rode to the priesthood was not an easy one as he failed out of the first seminary he attended. This is where Mount Saint Mary’s comes into the picture. After an active search by his Bishop in Oklahoma, Stanley was accepted at the Mount where he excelled and graduated.

Prior to Stanley completing his studies, Pope John XXIII asked the churches of North America to assist the people of Central America. The Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa (eventually the diocese split into two) answered the call by sending two priests and two lay people to go to Santiago Atitlan in Guatemala. Eventually in 1968 Father Stanley was invited by a fellow priest to join the mission. An invitation he accepted and one which his Bishop granted permission.

Father Stanley made the 2000-mile trek from Oklahoma in his white and red Ford Bronco with friend Father Stafford to the parish of Santiago Atitlan in Guatemala. He was the twelfth member of the Oklahoman team, the sixth priest. Father excelled in his work at the mission. Having been raised on a farm, physical labor was no stranger to him and his skills were quite helpful at the 400-year-old parish church building as well as the surrounding areas. One example of this was his wok on the local hospital. From laying the concrete blocks for the hospitals 21 rooms to helping hand dig a 90 foot deep well, Father Stanley poured himself into work.

From marriages to helping the hungry Father played an integral roll in the daily life of the locals. Person after person interviewed for the book all had the same general theme to give on Father Stanley and his missionary work in Guatemala. One German missionary summed it up best. “He was the man who tried to know the people….went to their houses….tried to understand them. He gave himself completely to the people here. It was very beautiful”

Everything was far from perfect however. Death threats came. In the words of Father Stanley:

“The reality is that we are in danger. But we don’t know when or what form the government will use to further repress the Church…..Given the situation, I am not ready to leave here just yet. There is a chance that the Govt. will back off. If I get a direct threat or am told to leave, then I will go. But if it is my destiny that I should give my life here, then so be it….I don’t want to desert these people, and that is what will be said, even after all these years. There is still a lot of good that can be done under the circumstances.”

By 1981 the danger had become imminent. Father Stanley left Guatemala, returning to Oklahoma. His time there was short -lived. As he told his friends and family that he must return to his people. In February of 1981 Father Stanley returned to his parish in Atitlan and in July he told that the government had decided to kill him. Hs response? “I will not leave the parish. I have a commitment to the people and to the sisters, and I will not leave.”

The fateful day came on July 28, 1981 at 2:30am. Three masked men broke into the rectory and murdered Father Stanley. In the days leading up to his death Father gave a number of homilies knowing that the inevitable would happen. “If they kill me, praise be to God.” “My sisters and catechists , we will see each other in heaven. We have to be faithful before God and to he community.”

Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda has given us a wonderful gift. An excellent volume on the life of a man who may very well be canonized the first male saint from America. A man who went from a simple farm boy in Oklahoma to a beloved priest in Guatemala. A martyr in our own times who did not run from those who tried to stifle his and his parishioners’ faith. Instead, he stood up against persecution and became a witness to Christ. This review was a simple recap of that life. I recommend you get this book to get the full story and appreciate the wonderful job Maria has done.

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.