SKU: 3147540964

"if You Love Me, You Will Do My Will": The Stranger-Than-Fiction Saga of a Trappist Monk, a Texas Widow, and Her Half-Billion-Dollar Fortune

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"if You Love Me, You Will Do My Will": The Stranger-Than-Fiction Saga of a Trappist Monk, a Texas Widow, and Her Half-Billion-Dollar FortuneThis is a story of a vast cattle and oil fortune left hanging by the thread of a widow's dying wish; a story of prodigious egos and ambitions competing for the fortune before the widow was even buried; a story about a legal battle that has lasted a quarter century and has swept like a range fire from dusty cow town courtrooms to the marble halls of the Vatican, pitting captains of industry against princes of the Church. And if it had happened anywhere

This is a story of a vast cattle and oil fortune left hanging by the thread of a widow's dying wish; a story of prodigious egos and ambitions competing for the fortune before the widow was even buried; a story about a legal battle that has lasted a quarter-century and has swept like a range fire from dusty cow-town courtrooms to the marble halls of the Vatican, pitting captains of industry against princes of the Church. And if it had happened anywhere other than Texas, you probably wouldn't believe a word of it.

Sarita Kenedy East was the aging, melancholy mistress of a cattle kingdom as big as Rhode Island: La Parra, 400,000 acres of South Texas rangeland next door to the fabled King Ranch. She was the last Kenedy. And although she cherished the huge ranch founded by her grandfather, her life there oppressed her. Mrs. East's only solace was in her memories, her abiding Catholic faith, and her nightly tumblers of scotch.

In 1948 Sarita received a surprise caller, a young and charismatic Trappist monk, Brother Leo--the alleged Svengali of this saga--who had been sent out from his monastery in New England to scout potential sites for new Trappist monasteries...and to find rich Catholic donors to pay for them. In time he discovered what Sarita herself did not know, that under her lands lay an ocean of oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Brother Leo had a gift for persuasion. He became the lonely widow's spiritual counselor, and before she died she made him trustee of a charitable foundation that he says was meant to help the poor of Latin America. But Brother Leo ran into some formidable opposition: Sarita's vengeful relatives in Texas, Fortune 500 industrialist J. Peter Grace, and the Catholic Church itself all had other plans for the giant estate.

"If You Love Me You Will Do My Will," based upon two decades of investigative reporting and interviews with almost every major character, details this extravagant drama, an epic even by Texas standards.



Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 03/01/1990
ISBN: 9780393338638
Pages: 383
Weight: 1.07lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.85d
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SKU: 3147540964

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Lavantinique S
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 5
Great Buy
Size: Large, Color: Black
True to size. Material is nice and thick. Perfect attire for Wedding or any formal event.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2026
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Ms. Claudia Adams
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 4
Pants run small
Size: 3X-Large, Color: Purple
Jacket fit .. but pants did not. Nice suit though.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2025
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Tabatha
Phoenix, US
★★★★★ 5
Fits like a glove, looks like a million!
Size: Small, Color: Purple
Bought this as a gift for him and very impressed. Looks like a million dollars, fit true to size, looks tailored not cheap. Fabric is quality, stitching is done well and the pants have a nice hidden elastic extender that helps if he goes up or down a few pounds. Very impressed!
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Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2026
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Freak77Showisnormal
Los Angeles, US
★★★★★ 5
It was the perfect suit for our big day!
Size: X-Small, Color: Purple, Size: X-Small, Color: Purple
Purple size xs. He's 5'9" 145-150lbs. Very impressed with this suit. The color and pattern is awesome. The fit was good. I would say this suit runs large. Usually he wears a Medium in everything but ordered an XS and it fit very well. The pants were long we had to get those hemmed. There was a few stray strings by the end of the night in areas of the suit. But overall good quality. And for a great price.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2025
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Mabel D.
Port Orchard, US
★★★★★ 3
We were excited and I wanted to like it but...
Size: X-Small, Color: Black, Size: X-Small, Color: Black
We ordered this for Prom and it was supposed to be a size small, which was available for Prime ordering, but had to settle for xsmall. The pants, fortunately fit well and just need to be hemmed, the vest is great and the jacket is snug. My son has broad shoulders and I was hesitant to buy the xsmall, but it does fit just right. The only thing he would need to do is unbutton the jacket while he is dancing and maybe take it off while seated and eating dinner before prom. The material is surprisingly nice and has weight to it. I was relieved it isn't flimsy. The overall look on my son is smooth and we love the pattern and the material has shine to it. I was not happy that right out of the package, the button to the jacket could potentially fall off during because it doesn't look securely sewed in. The side of the right side of the jacket has thread already coming apart. And I found a little snag in a different location. I'm really not happy about that. I posted photos so you can see what I mean. We were excited about this suit, but it's going back. The company needs to do better with quality control.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2023

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