"Do This in Memory of Me"
Author: John Rosengren
Author: John Rosengren
www.johnrosengren.net
email: john@johnrosengren.net
Authors' phone number: 612-926-8835
SYNOPSIS
“Do This in Memory of Me”
Synopsis of an original screenplay by John Rosengren
Based on the true story of Blessed Stan Rother
Fr. Stan Rother, an American missionary priest in Guatemala, learns that guerrillas are in the hills outside his pueblo of Santiago Atitlan. More pastoral than political, he wants to avoid taking sides in the country’s long and bloody civil war, but that becomes increasingly difficult once the Army comes to town and his parishioners begin disappearing. When Stan witnesses hired thugs kidnap an endangered catechist who had sought shelter in the rectory, Stan organizes a clandestine campaign to support the widows and children of the disappeared. This action–and maybe a grudge held against him by a wealthy landowner–lands him on a government hit list. He narrowly escapes a kidnap attempt, and another priest helps smuggle him out of the country. Back home on the family farm in Oklahoma, Stan is restless and unhappy. At his cousin’s ordination, he feels the call to serve the poor renewed and convinces the bishop to let him return to Guatemala in time to celebrate Holy Week with his parishioners. Not long afterward, three assassins come for him in the night. But they don’t find him at the rectory. The local madame, whom he has befriended, tips him off about the danger and hides him in her brothel. The wealthy landowner with the grudge, a patron of the brothel, discovers Stan’s hiding place and alerts the Army commander. Stan does his best to fight off the thugs, but they shoot him dead in the brothel. At Stan’s funeral mass, the bishop eulogizes Stan as one who’s shown the greatest love, having given his life for others.
“Do This in Memory of Me”
Synopsis of an original screenplay by John Rosengren
Based on the true story of Blessed Stan Rother
Fr. Stan Rother, an American missionary priest in Guatemala, learns that guerrillas are in the hills outside his pueblo of Santiago Atitlan. More pastoral than political, he wants to avoid taking sides in the country’s long and bloody civil war, but that becomes increasingly difficult once the Army comes to town and his parishioners begin disappearing. When Stan witnesses hired thugs kidnap an endangered catechist who had sought shelter in the rectory, Stan organizes a clandestine campaign to support the widows and children of the disappeared. This action–and maybe a grudge held against him by a wealthy landowner–lands him on a government hit list. He narrowly escapes a kidnap attempt, and another priest helps smuggle him out of the country. Back home on the family farm in Oklahoma, Stan is restless and unhappy. At his cousin’s ordination, he feels the call to serve the poor renewed and convinces the bishop to let him return to Guatemala in time to celebrate Holy Week with his parishioners. Not long afterward, three assassins come for him in the night. But they don’t find him at the rectory. The local madame, whom he has befriended, tips him off about the danger and hides him in her brothel. The wealthy landowner with the grudge, a patron of the brothel, discovers Stan’s hiding place and alerts the Army commander. Stan does his best to fight off the thugs, but they shoot him dead in the brothel. At Stan’s funeral mass, the bishop eulogizes Stan as one who’s shown the greatest love, having given his life for others.
Awards Won
• “Do This in Memory of Me,” Best Screenplay 2025, Rhodium Award, Religion Faith International Film Festival
• Pulitzer Prize for Public Service nomination 2016, “How Casinos Enable Gambling Addicts,” The Atlantic
• National Magazine Award, Best Feature nomination 2016, “How Casinos Enable Gambling Addicts,” The Atlantic
• American Society of Journalists & Authors, 2017 Donald Robinson Award for Investigative Journalism, “How Casinos Enable Gambling Addicts,” The Atlantic
• Minnesota Society for Professional Journalists, 2020 Page One Award for Best Feature Story, “The Old Man and the Clinic,” Mpls. St. Paul magazine
• Catholic Press Association, 2020 Best Profile, Alumni Magazine, “The Good Shepherd,” Notre Dame (This article is about Fr. Stan Rother, the subject of my screenplay)
• Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists, 2017 Page One Award Best Feature Story, Third Place, “Bet Your Life,” Minnesota Monthly
• Minnesota Magazine & Publishers Association Excellence Awards, 2013, Gold, Feature Article, “Stand by Me,” a profile of Denis McDonough, Saint John’s University alumni magazine summer/fall 2013)
• The Archbishop Edward T. O’Mara Award for Magazine Article with a Worldwide Missionary Theme, 2007, from the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, for “Father Stan Rother: American Martyr in Guatemala” (another article about the subject of my screenplay)
• The Eileen Egan Award for Journalistic Excellence, 2007, from Catholic Relief Services, for “Father Stan Rother: American Martyr in Guatemala,” (St. Anthony Messenger, July 2006)
• Catholic Press Association, 2003 Best Column/general commentary