Scenes from an upcoming feature film on the final days of Blessed Stanley Rother’s life will certainly be familiar to local Catholics, as two diocesan parishes were transformed into movie sets to chronicle the ultimate sacrifice the Oklahoma native made for his people in Guatemala in 1981.
“The Shepherd,” a joint production of EWTN Studios and Coronation Studios, was filmed on site at St. Joseph Parish in Hanover and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and its former convent in Conewago earlier this year, turning the sacred spaces into the places where Blessed Stanley preached, ministered and stood firmly for the Catholic faith and the indigenous people in Santiago Atitlán.
The film stars Shane West (“A Walk to Remember,” “Once and Again,” “ER”) as Father Stanley Rother alongside Susanna Thompson (“Once and Again,” “Arrow”) and Siobhan Fallon Hogan (“Seinfeld,” “Wayward Pines”).
Writer and director Gary Gasse hopes the feature film will introduce movie-goers to Blessed Stanley Rother and illustrate that saints and blesseds aren’t stories from the past; they’re people we can have relationships with today.
“I’ve always had a desire to tell Catholic stories and stories about things that are good, true and beautiful,” said Gasse, a member of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Gettysburg.
He first encountered Blessed Stanley Rother’s story as a student at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md. After studying at Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, Rother completed his studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, graduating in 1963.
Gasse and his wife Jennifer – an associate producer of the movie who has family ties in Oklahoma – were captivated by the determination and sacrifice of the American martyr, who requested to serve the indigenous people in Santiago Atitlán in Guatemala and was martyred in his rectory during the Guatemalan Civil War. He is the first American-born martyr beatified by the Church.
As co-founder of Coronation, alongside business partner Bill Phillips, Gasse pitched the idea of a feature-length film to EWTN Studios, and “The Shepherd” was given a green light.
This past spring, production crews and Hollywood actors arrived at St. Joseph’s and Sacred Heart, transforming the locations into movie sets.
“We’ll scout dozens upon dozens of locations to try to facilitate what we’re looking for. St. Joseph and Sacred Heart had the right look for what we were going for creatively, and they were so hospitable,” Gasse said.
Scenes from St. Joseph’s show Father Rother celebrating Mass in Oklahoma and telling parishioners about the horrors he witnessed in Guatemala. The Basilica of the Sacred Heart was the site of young Stanley attending Mass; its convent was converted into a bishop’s office where Father Rother sought support for the indigenous people amid inhumane treatment.
“Part of what excited me about telling this story is that not all of the people working on this project are Catholic,” Gasse said.
“We had conversations about what the story was about. I think they all responded to the life of Blessed Stanley, who I think has this unique way of crossing aisles because he was such a beautiful witness to social justice and human rights,” he said.
Gasse found himself further inspired by the witness of Blessed Stanley Rother when the cast and crew filmed on location in Guatemala. They met Father Bocel, who was Father Rother’s parochial assistant at the Church of Santiago Apóstol, spoke with people whom Father Rother taught, and filmed his death scene in the room adjacent to where he was shot on July 28, 1981.
“I don’t think it was until I went to Guatemala the first time that I had the whole picture,” Gasse said.
“The people there really, truly love him and he really is theirs. You walk away knowing that he couldn’t have made any other choice but to sacrifice himself for them. This was his true family and he wasn’t just their shepherd; he was their father, he was their friend. His heart was there,” he said.
Gasse hopes “The Shepherd” inspires people of all ages and faiths to look further into the life of Blessed Stanley Rother and the countless venerables, blessed and saints in the Church.
“This is an invitation to meet Blessed Stanley. This movie is not his full story; it’s a snapshot,” he said. “The great part about the Catholic tradition is that saints are not stories in stone; they’re invitations to be in relationship and get to know someone who served God well.”
The documentary “American Martyr: The Stanley Rother Story,” released this summer, and recent films like “Cabrini” and “Triumph of the Heart” illustrate a hunger for faith-based content and values-based entertainment, Gasse said.
“Our Church has no deficit of beautiful stories to tell; it’s just a matter of plumbing them,” he said.
For updates about “The Shepherd,” including future release dates, visit www.rothermovie.com.
(St. Joseph and general set photos courtesy of Coronation Studios and Sacred Heart.)
By Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness
