Father Latour

In Willa Cather’s Death Comes For The Archbishop, the bishop, Jean Latour, goes through many experiences that develop his character throughout the beginning to the end of book four. Latour is actually a very cool character. He is witty yet remains calm throughout situations. He is also intelligent and appears to be a very polite individual. It is also obvious that he is very strong which is evident in the beginning of the story. On his journey to New Mexico, the boat he is on sinks which causes him to lose all of his belongings with the exception of his books. He also injures his leg while attempting to jump off a carriage. The accident with his leg delays his mission for about three months. Still determined, he continues by horse and gets lost and travels through the desert for a long time without any food or water. However, despite these setbacks and what seems to be hallucinations, he is determined to reach New Mexico. Then Latour finally catches a break when he hops on a wagon headed for Sante Fe, New Mexico. Latour is thrilled that he has finally reached his destination when he runs into another problem. After he reaches the church in New Mexico, he is informed that the church never received notice that he was coming to the church. He is then told that in order to get the paper work he must travel a journey of about 3,000 miles to the Bishop of Durango. Although he gets lost again he does reach the Bishop in a much easier fashion then his first journey. When he returns to Sante Fe he discovers that Father Vaillant has made many changes to the church that make it better. In the second book, he meets a Mexican woman by the name of Magdalena. While trying to make a deal with her husband, Buck, Magdalena tells Latour that her husband will kill them and is an evil man. She leaves with them and further explains to them that he was a murderer and a very mean and dangerous man. We then read on to meet their tour guide. We then discover that the Father Gallegos has been everything except for his duties at the church. He has been dancing and partying and meeting girls. Throughout their journey, the tour guide, Jacinto and Father Vaillant exchange information and we learn a lot about both characters. In the fourth book, Father Vaillant takes over the church since Father Gallegos is not doing his job. Father Valliant is assigned to be stationed in Las Vegas and catches black measles. On his way to help Father Valliant, Father Latour has to stop due to the weather and discovers a tribe that kills babies. The next night they have to set up camp again. Fortunately, by the time they reach Father Valliant his fever has broken. All of his journeys prove that Father Latour is an extremely strong and caring individual.