Alva Review-Courier -

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP, posted Sept. 11, 2016) — Thomas McSherry embarked on "the adventure of a lifetime" on a September morning full of promise in 1984.

The Catholic priest and his friend and fellow clergyman, Don Wolf, drove out of Norman on their way to McSherry's new mission field in a parish more than 2,000 miles away.

Their faith traditions connected the priests to the parishioners in far off Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, where the pair were headed.

Those connections were strengthened by life — and death.

The Oklahoman (http://bit.ly/2cb6h92) reports that McSherry was one of three priests who answered the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City's call for volunteers to continue the work of the Rev. Stanley Rother. The Okarche native devoted his life to serving the rural Guatemalan community situated on picturesque Lake Atitlan.

It was Rother's 1981 death — he was murdered by unknown assailants — that ultimately led to the journey that McSherry and Wolf began that September day 32 years ago.

McSherry, a New York native who grew up in Tulsa, volunteered to become the archdiocesan priest who would continue Rother's work in Guatemala.

In a sense, he would be following in Rother's footsteps.

However, he ended up forging his own path in a country still rocked by the turmoil of civil war.

McSherry and Wolf were among a contingent of priests and Catholic leaders who traveled to Guatemala in July for the 35th anniversary of Rother's death.

For Wolf, pastor of St. Eugene Catholic Church, the trip brought up memories of that long ago journey with McSherry.

Wolf said he has admired McSherry for years for his willingness to continue the work of the church in a place where his predecessor had been killed.

He said the tale of McSherry's role in the now thriving Santiago Atitlan parish isn't as well known as the story of Rother's life and death as a missionary priest there.

Rother was declared a martyr by the Vatican and he could one day be declared a Roman Catholic saint.

"Tom was great — I was just along for the ride," Wolf said.

"He was going to be part of a mission team for 35,000 people, to a place where his predecessor had been murdered. People were still being kidnapped, tortured and murdered, all of that. He was there trying to put this whole mission thing back together. His willingness to face the challenges and his bravery were remarkable."

McSherry is prone to downplay the danger he faced in his new assignment.

He said he knew that it had been only three years since Rother's death stunned the faith communities both in Guatemala and the United States.

But when he got the letter from Oklahoma Catholic leaders asking for someone to go there, he simply felt compelled to go.

"I thought if I think it's wonderful, why doesn't everyone else think it's wonderful?" McSherry said. "I thought everybody wanted to go."

The Most Rev. Eusebius J. Beltran, archbishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, said he was bishop of the Tulsa Diocese in 1984 and the Most Rev. Charles Salatka was Oklahoma City archbishop.

Beltran said both dioceses supported the Santiago Atitlan mission, but after Rother's death, they were advised by Guatemalan church leaders not to send a replacement for the slain priest.

He said this was just as well.

"Neither of us were excited about who we were going to send because neither of us wanted to put someone in a dangerous situation," Beltran said.

He said several years later, the Guatemalan bishop gave the Oklahoma clergy leaders the "green light" to send another clergyman, assuring them that the new priest would be in no imminent danger.

Beltran said it was decided that priests would be asked to volunteer for the assignment and he and Salatka were thrilled when three priests expressed interest.

Along with McSherry, a priest from Tulsa and a priest from New York volunteered for the Guatemalan assignment.

McSherry said the Tulsa priest changed his mind out of respect for family members' concerns about his safety.

He said the New York priest did go to Guatemala and their paths intersected some before he was called back to his diocese.

McSherry, at age 39, ended up being the priest who ventured into the country so beloved by Rother.

He spoke very little Spanish, just a smattering of the language he learned in high school and virtually none of the Tzutuhil dialect that served as the primary language of the Santiago Atitlan citizens.

Yet McSherry said he felt called to the Guatemalan parish.

"I believe every priest has a missionary spirit, just some go across the world and some don't," he said.

McSherry agreed to stay in Santiago Atitlan for five years.

Ultimately, he stayed for 17.

During his return to Guatemala in July, the 71-year-old McSherry, noted the advances in technology that have changed the community where he served for almost two decades.

He said the people, however, were much the same as he remembered them — kind, faithful and unafraid to express their faith outwardly.

More than one Oklahoman who made the Rother anniversary pilgrimage noted that a "mob scene" ensued wherever McSherry showed up as Guatemalans clamored to talk and hug "Padre Atmas" or Father Thomas.

"It was very touching," he said of all the attention. "Everybody has a camera now with their cellphones and they wanted pictures."

What was it about the Guatemalan parish that drew McSherry 32 years ago, despite the potential for turmoil there?

He said it wasn't that he didn't understand the turbulent nature of the ongoing civil war. Wolf said armed troops walked through the streets and a soldier stood at the back of the church with his rifle during Mass.

"The civil war was going on although less than intense. It was still always on the radar screen," Wolf said.

McSherry admitted there were some who questioned his reasoning.

"People thought I was crazy or didn't read the papers," he recalled.

He said he had visited the parish on the second anniversary of Rother's death and was touched by the faithfulness of the parishioners. McSherry said during that Guatemalan visit he had the opportunity to speak to Rother's parents who talked about the need for another priest to continue the slain priest's work there.

McSherry said that need and his willingness to embrace a new culture and country drew him to Rother's beloved parish.

"Every day was a new adventure — the food, the people, the family customs. I was the right age and the right temperament, and I was flexible enough," he said.

The priest said he traveled to Antigua to take Spanish classes whenever he could for the first few years of his Guatemalan ministry. Other American priests serving in the country were very supportive and he learned how to hold a conversation in the Tzutuhil dialect. Eventually, he said he was able to offer a Spanish Mass and a Tzutuhil Mass, though "I was never fluent in it."

He said he is most proud of the work that he did alongside the people of Santiago Atitlan.

He said they founded several schools including a center where individuals were taught computer skills. The parish founded a work study program to young people, created housing and supported a medical program in the village.

"There was always something new to try and the possibilities were endless," he said.

"It was the adventure of a lifetime — I couldn't have invented it. Best job I've ever had."