Other editions of book Death Comes for the Archbishop

1927. American novelist. In this work her focus falls on the Southwest. From the dust cover: Death Comes for the Archbishop is a very beautiful and harmonious piece of work. The whole narrative proceeds with the certainty and proportion of a great piece of music. The theme and its setting have been long and deeply considered; the farther we go the more the atmosphere pervades us; and a gradual knowledge of the character percolates as it were through the mere presentation of the scenes. The writing is as admirable as ever. Sir John Squire in the Observer. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

Two French missionaries -- Jean Marie Latour and Joseph Vaillant -- make their way into the harsh, unexplored, mountainous region of New Mexico in the hope of revivifying there the religion that had been brought by Spanish priests and then left to decay in the hand of an insubordinate and materilistic clergy. Father Latour, first bishop of the diosese, knew how to win the confidence of the Indians and to become a father of the Indians and to become a father indeed to the Mexicans. Slowly and firmly he gained control of the padres of the region, gradually replacing the slothful with men stamped by his own ardor. The cathedral that he built in Santa Fe, using the stones of the region so that it might fit into its surroundings, was the crown of his missionary labor, in which he had succeeded in harmonizing two elements: the Catholic religion and the New Mexican way of life.

Two priests are despatched from Rome to New Mexico to reinvigorate Catholicism among the locals, knowing little of the challenges that await them. They face a journey characterised by drudgery, danger and a vast, unending, often barren landscape. Over almost four decades they encounter a rich variety of people, from rebellious Mexican priests to steadfast Native Americans uninterested in changing their longstanding customs. Ultimately the pair must grapple with the near impossibility of spreading their faith in an ancient land built on its own traditions. This is a work of simplicity and beauty, and a portrait of a steadfast friendship, from one of America’s most celebrated novelists. ‘Quite simply a masterpiece’ Daily Telegraph