Death Comes for the Archbishop

By Willa Cather and Kali Fajardo-Anstine

For the 150th anniversary of Willa Cather's birth, and for the first time in Penguin Classics, her quietly beautiful novel of one man's life as he encounters the harsh landscape of the New Mexico desert and the people who inhabit it, with an introduction by National Book Award finalist Kali Fajardo-Anstine

A Penguin Vitae Edition • One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years

In 1848, following the US's recent acquisition of the American Southwest from Mexico, the young bishop Father Jean Marie Latour receives instruction from the Vatican to oversee a newly created diocese in New Mexico. With his good friend Father Joseph Vaillant in tow, the pair travel through the unforgiving and seemingly-endless desert on mules in attempt to reclaim the region from corrupt priests who have taken mistresses, exhibited greed, and inflicted abuse and genocide on the Mexican and Indigenous residents. But as Father Latour spends more time in New Mexico with the people who have inhabited and influenced it for centuries, he begins to realize that the task he was sent to do is more complicated than anticipated. Rather than leave, though, Father Latour decides to stay and uphold his commitment to the Church and his faith, and gains an eye-opening perspective along the way. Written in 1927 at a time when Cather herself was expanding her own ideas of race, religion, and gender, Death Comes for the Archbishop remains a moving account of one man's physical and spiritual journey of understanding in naturalistic prose as sparse as the desert plains.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Nov 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9780593511817

Willa Cather

WILLA CATHER (1873–1947), the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of more than fifteen books, was one of the most distinguished American writers of the early twentieth century.

Reviews for Death Comes for the Archbishop

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is not the story I expected it to be. I think I was expecting a 1920s fun mystery because of the title. Instead I discovered a heartwarming, gentle tale of persistence in the face of adversity. I loved it. The story is based on a real person, Archbishop Lamay, who founded the Cathedral of Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is beautifully told, with the customs and cultures of the peoples of the Southwest getting full respect.

[eas7788 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I only knew My Antonía and didn't know the plot of this, so I came in with no expectations except that I would recognize some of Santa Fe. I was surprised that it was not a straight ahead novel but instead a series of stories and sometimes even anecdotes or sketches. I've been reading such plot-heavy stuff that I enjoyed the shift. I also enjoyed knowing some of the history and landscape that she wrote about. The tone was interesting because it had bits of judgment in it but also a lot of objectivity and fondness. She not surprisingly excels at making the landscape part of the story. I enjoyed returning to some of the sweetness of Catholicism and marked many of its meannesses as well. Very interesting politics. The relationship between Jean and Joseph is definitely the core of the book, but also Jean's relationship with NM--the book wavered its its portrayal of Native Americans and Mexicans, but overall pretty good for a white woman in the 1920s--there is a RANGE of characters who are native or Mexican or Hispanic, and that is the biggest accomplishment.

[kslade-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really fine account of Catholic priest in N. Mexico.

[soylentgreen23 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

'Death Comes for the Archbishop' felt similar in structure to 'Winesburg, Ohio,' in that it is built up of a series of vignettes. The sense of place is also central to the story - or stories - and is definitely one of the highlights of this novel, which broadly tells of the life of the Archbishop Lamy (here called Latour) and his career in the Catholic church.

[stravinsky-544320 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

simple, touching

[dmturner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is surprising how easy it is to read this slow, meditative book with its long, long descriptions of landscape and vegetation, even though it has basically no plot and is a series of episodes in the life of two Catholic priests in the 1800s American Southwest, based loosely on an historical character. The landscape itself is a character in the novel, one that reveals itself differently in every passage.

The book wears surprisingly well except perhaps for tinges of disdain for the Protestants, the gold miners, and the Ohioans. A gentle book about solitary people in a cruel world.

[arubabookwoman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Like The Professor's House which I read earlier this year, this book almost seemed to be two distinct books. Most of the book was the story of Father Jean Latour and his friend and fellow priest Joseph Vaillant. They leave France to become missionaries in the New World in the early 19th century, and sometime around 1850 Latour is named Bishop of New Mexico. Readers are treated to lots of southwest history and culture, including clashes among Mexicans, various Native American tribes, Europeans, and Americans. Even Kit Carson plays a major role. And the beautiful southwest landscape is lovingly evoked by Cather's perfect prose. Together and separately, Latour and Vaillant have many "adventures" over the years.The final two chapters find Latour as an old man. He became Archbishop, but is now retired. Vaillant, before his death, had moved on to the wilds of the Colorado gold rush. This part of the book was what I had been expecting the whole book to be like: an older man looking back on life choices and contemplating death.I'm finding Cather is not an easy writer to categorize. Sometimes while reading it seems like not much has happened, and then you realize she's created a whole world. What is sometimes missing is a narrative arc, and I sometimes find that there are lots of stories and characters only tenuously connected. Nevertheless, I want to read more by her.I learned after reading the book that it is based on true characters, and is based on William Howlett's account of the life of Father Macheboeuf. One of the reviews on Amazon described this book as not a story, but a "mural" of a time, place, and the relationship between two very different characters. I agree.4 stars

[pdcread · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

New Mexico has just become part of the United States, and Jean Marie Latour a bishop and Joseph Vaillant, a minister are travelling from Ohio to there to establish a new diocese. Their journey takes a year by boat and then overland, where Latour spends the remainder of his life establishing the Roman Catholic church.

The story tells us how these two French priests find the established Mexican clergy and the native Hopi and Navajo Indians on their travels there, and the frustrations of convincing that the local population that this new religion is the way forward.

The writing in this book is lovely, eloquent, effortless to read and the descriptions of this part of the world were lovely. But I found the characters to be lacking something and they felt a little two dimensional to me. A stronger plot would have been good too.

[sandrabrower · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have lived in the red stone surrounded valleys and Ms. Cather's imagery brings me home every time!

I love the relationship between Father Joseph and Bishop Latour. The idea of the same gender having a deep commonality of friendship is lost now a days in the twist of author's making everything sexual. Two young men who grow old doing what God has called them to accomplish. All the while touching so many lives is an example of how all human beings should live. To do what is best for All Men not just those whom are most like you, is what Father Joseph teaches in this gorgeous, gorgeous novel. I know I am better for reading it not only from a reader's perspective but also a writer's. The idea of two French Men revolutionizing Religion in many western states is similar to a lot of westerns but, the craft of the prose: the scenery, story line, POV have changed my thoughts on what is great writing; as a teen would've seen this as just a good religious western, today I see it as a brilliant story of companionship and love of mankind set in native New Mexico.

How is this book not a required reading for an Ap English Class? It tells a simplistic, moving story without the base words most AP books hold in them.

[greeniezona · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book had been on my TBR for years, I picked it up this particular week because of a Bookopoly prompt (long story) I'd made to pick a book from a friend's list of books that had influenced her. And I am just so grateful for the whole weird series of steps that led to me finally picking this book off of the shelf. I loved every bit of this. Somehow the spareness fo Cather's writing is perfectly suited to the deserts of the American Southwest. This book has been praised by many smarter than me, so let me just say this: Despite this book not always following "the rules" of a typical narrative novel, EVERYTHING about this book feels very much on purpose, and evidence of a master practicing her craft.I loved the setting, I loved learning more about the old mission churches of the Southwest and the various cultures that collided there. Amazing book.

[lamour_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is my second Cather and while I thourhly enjoyed , this title was disappointing. It should not have as it was full of history of New Mexico and Arizona following their annexation from Mexico.The narrative follows the trials and tribulations of two French Roman Catholic priests who have been assigned by Rome to save the Church from Protestants but more importantly from the decadence that has seeped into after years of neglect a Church leadership in Mexico. On arrival they find preists with concubines and children plus stealing from their flocks to enrich themselves.Father Latour and his colleague, Father Valliannt minister a flock spread over thousands of miles and accessible only by horseback. Their parisoners include wealthy Spanish, indiginous tribes including Hopi and Navaho and American farmers. If lack of water in desert travels or bitterly cold in winter does not kill them, armed robbers or angry natives may.Why do I not like this novel? Maybe it's the 1920's language that is full of description that adds little to the narrative. Reminds me of some of Zane Grey's weaker titles.

[amandrake_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well-written with occasional ethical interest, but not particularly interesting.

[judithrs · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Death Comes for the Archbishop. In The Best Works of Willa Cather. 1927 I read this book 12 or so years ago and just finished re-reading it for DIPSO, our book club. I enjoyed it the first time and the second time. This is strange because I have never been that interested in the Southwest, and I don’t go out of my way to read books with lots of nature descriptions. It is a novel of the lives of Catholic priests who came to New Mexico after the Mexican American War. The descriptions of the Southwest landscape were mesmerizing and I thought of Georgia O’Keeffe paintings while I was reading. Cather does not neglect to mention the violence and mistreatment of the Indians and Mexicans by some of the priests, but her accounts of the good priests and the positive things they did are heartwarming. The hardships the priests and the indigenous people endured were heart breaking. The perseverance of the priests is a testament to the strong faith they had

[paradiseporch · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A beautiful story that sneaks up on you - just like life - and death.

[quondame · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A book full of beauty which I cannot love. There is a smugness to the tone and attitudes that made me want to toss it across the room more than once.

[foggidawn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In the year 1851, the priest Jean Latour is sent to the new American territory of New Mexico, to re-establish the Roman Catholic Church among the people there. For over 30 years, he works among them, becoming greatly beloved.This is a lovely, refreshing book. It describes the beauty of the southwestern landscape as well as the events of a lifetime of service. Based on the life of the first bishop of New Mexico, this book made me want to revisit Santa Fe and see the cathedral there again. Recommended.

[nicolewbrown · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is loosely based on the life of the first Bishop of the New Mexico Territory, Jean-Baptiste Ramy. It is 1851 and Jean Marie Latour has just been named Vicar Apostolic of New Mexico and Bishop of Agathonica in partibus. The New Mexico Territory is vast and new to the United States having just been won from Mexico in the war, so his diocese is a large one. The seat of it is located at Sante Fe. The Bishop did not come alone, though. He was followed once again by his longtime friend Father Joseph Valliant whom he met in Seminary back in France and with whom he has been doing mission work with in America ever since. The two are an unlikely pair as Valliant has always been sickly, yet hardy in his faith. He is able to raise money for the things the church really needs but basically never takes anything for himself with only a rare occurrence. Latour is hardy in health by his faith has doubts at times. He is good at running the churches and organizing things and does accept the odd nice gift from a parishioner. They compliment each other nicely. I really prefer Father Valliant over Bishop Latour. He's a much more likable fellow and in the book, he has many more friends. They both have their work cut out for them as the Mexican priests don't want to be under the rule of the Americans. And they have no interest to be under the rule of a new French Bishop. There are some good priests and there are some churches that are in need of priests so Valliant and Latour must travel to them to do Mass. Some of these churches are Native American churches and they must contend with their dual religions of Catholicism and the old ways. The author also deals with, to some small extent, how the Native Americans have been treated by both the Americans and the Mexicans, which is interesting considering this book was published in 1927. The problem priests believe in being able to run wild and have sex with whatever woman they choose and pick up money from ventures that are not necessarily legal or morally right. Latour sends Valliant out to one of the churches to preach for a while and bring the congregation back to the righteous path rather than the party path and gives the priest a rest so he can reflect on what he did wrong. But the other two priests prove more wily and harder to deal with and a different solution must present itself.This book is not really a novel with a plot so much as a collection of vignettes. With this title, I must admit I was hoping for something a bit, well, sexier, like a murder mystery or a suspense novel. But instead I got a good, but a not too exciting book, about a Bishop and a priest who tries to set up an American diocese in the old west. The descriptions will make you really feel as though you are there, but they can also go on and on in excruciating detail. Overall this wasn't a bad book if it's your cup of tea.

[jwhenderson_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This novel is based on the lives of two historical figures, Jean-Baptiste Lamy and Joseph Projectus Machebeuf and rather than any one singular plot, is the stylized re-telling of their lives serving as Roman Catholic clergy in New Mexico. The narrative has frequent digressions, either in terms of stories related to the pair (including the story of the Our Lady of Guadeloupe and the murder of an oppressive Spanish priest at Acoma Pueblo) or through their recollections. The narrator is in the Third-Person Omniscient style. Interwoven in the narrative are fictionalized accounts of actual historical figures, including Kit Carson, Manuel Antonio Chaves and Pope Gregory XVI.In the prologue, Bishop Montferrand, a French bishop who works in the New World, is soliciting 3 cardinals at Rome to pick his candidate for the newly created diocese of New Mexico (which has recently passed into American hands). Bishop Montferrand is successful in getting his candidate, the Auvergnat Jean-Marie Latour, recommended by the cardinals. Cather describes the garden setting in great detail. It is carved into the mountains overlooking Rome. The setting is refined and cultivated, underscored by the cardinal's tastes for fine wine, gourmet food, and art. As the Catholic Church has become the predominant civilizing element of Europe, so too will it serve to civilize the American Southwest.The host cardinal admits that his knowledge of the North American continent derives primarily from the Leatherstocking novels of James Fenimore Cooper. But he is eager to champion Ferrand's nomination to the Vicarate if it means he can retrieve an El Greco painting of St. Francis of Assisi his great-grandfather had donated from his collection to a Franciscan missionary priest in the New World.The cardinals find Bishop Ferrand's single-mindedness annoying, and change the subject to current political and cultural events. Bishop Ferrand is unable to take part in the conversation and worries that he has been on the frontier so long that he can no longer engage in clever discussion. Sensing that Ferrand might have second-thoughts about appointing Latour to such a remote, uncivilized, and desolate post, Allande tells Ferrand that it is too late.Father Latour is described as a thirty-five-year-old French Jesuit missionary. The French Jesuits are believed by the cardinals to be great organizers. Ferrand predicts that the New Mexico territory will "drink up [Latour's] youth and strength as it does the rain." Latour also will be called upon to make great personal sacrifices, perhaps even becoming a martyr.Cather foreshadows the color themes she dedicates to the southwestern landscape by describing the dome of St. Peter's as bluish-gray with "a flash of copper light." Later, as the sun sets, Cather describes the sky as "waves of rose and gold." She will eventually use various shades of copper and gold to describe the terrain of New Mexico. In addition, her description of the "soft metallic surface" of St. Peter's contrasts with the hardness of the American frontier depicted by the bishop. Cather also describes the light as both intense and soft, revealing the relative easiness of European life in comparison to the lives of American missionaries.

[lkernagh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Definitely one of those "right book, right time" kind of reads. Cather brings to life a time and place that I feel is irrevocably lost to us. It is a deeply spiritual read, and not just because the focus of the story is on two French missionaries that have come to bring the word to the Southwestern United States. Cather presents the plains of New Mexico and Arizona as stunning vistas peopled by nations Navajo and Hopi nations, influencing how the missionaries approach their seemingly impossible task to tame renegade priests and bring both the new Americans and the older aboriginal nations to embrace the Catholic faith. Cather has a wonderful way with prose and presentation: The story is soft, muted, and reflective in tone while still conveying the strong vibrance of life and communicating that each individual has their own way of embracing religion and a calling. Favorite quote from the book: "He did not know just when it had become so necessary to him, but he had come back to die in exile for the sake of it. Something soft and wild and free, something that whispered to the ear on the pillow, lightened the heart, softly, softly picked the lock, slid the bolts, and released the prisoned spirit of man into the wind, into the blue and the gold, into the morning, into the morning!" An absolutely beautiful read.

[untraveller · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good read about the area I'm working in this summer. The book did seem pointless at times, but such are the vagaries of religion....

[debnance_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Who knew I’d be traveling in a book the same places I was traveling in real life when I picked up Death Comes for the Archbishop? It was the perfect book to read while I was in New Mexico, the perfect book for this new Catholic. The plot centers on two French priests who come to work in New Mexico in the 1850’s, but the real story is the story of the peoples of New Mexico. Willa Cather finds a way to include the stories of the appearance of Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico and the murder of a cruel Spanish priest as well as speculations about God and religion and the Native Americans of New Mexico in this wonderful little book.

[wagner5sarah35 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I had trouble getting into this book, although I struggled through to the end - when death finally came for the archbishop. I will say that this novel does seem to fit its period and locale very well, depicting the remoteness and sparseness of the 19th-century American Southwest. The characters and their tales also depict the diversity of the era, with priests and murders rubbing shoulders together. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy Willa Cather's style or books written about the American West.

[randymetcalfe · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With a remarkably assured tone and gentle touch, Cather tells the story of the first Bishopric of New Mexico. Bishop Latour and his devoted vicar Father Vaillant travel southwest from Ohio to take up their new diocese. There travels and travails are many. They are threatened by murderers, sandstorms, snowstorms, and the arid desert. But they also find friendship and devout catholics in need of shepherding. These two men of very different temperament complement each other. Where the bishop is wise in the ways of men and the world, his companion knows the heart of the poor and the native inhabitants of these lands. Together they bring restoration to the church in this area and rebuild it on a solid edifice of hard work and faith. Their end, when it comes, as it does to all, is as a pleasant rain in mid-summer — as something earned if not overtly desired.Cather’s style here is remarkable. In an after note drawn from a letter to the editor of The Commonweal, she notes that she had, “all my life wanted to do something in the style of legend, which is absolutely the reverse of dramatic treatment.” And indeed she has managed just that. The episodic vignettes that make up the novel are none of them working toward some larger dramatic end. Rather they function as provocateurs of a particular mood, which might as well be called reverence. It feels both ancient and at the same time intensely modern. And it fully justifies her reputation.Very highly recommended.

[daniel5estes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

To fully appreciate the textured canvas that is Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop, I highly recommend some historical pre-reading for context. An overview of New Mexico's history during the 19th century, with a specific focus on the Mexico Cession of 1848, should give the unfamiliar reader a basic foundation of what life was like. Other helpful areas of interest would be a history of Santa Fe, a comparative study of religions of the region, and a familiarity with the American Indian tribes of the southwest.

[tomeboy_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the very best stories I've ever read.

[gbelik_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A beautiful story of courage and faith and a glorious reflection of the beauty of New Mexico. Bishop Latour and Father Joseph, two young friends and French priests come to the village of Santa Fe to minister to this area in the mid 19th century. They deal with Indians, Mexican and Americans in this area as it develops. The author has a clear reverence for her characters and their surroundings; this was a joy to read.

[janerawoof · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Compelling story and writing! Two Catholic missionaries, a bishop and his vicar, friends from seminary days. are sent to New Mexico of the 1880s to reawake the morbid Catholicism of the Spaniards, Mexicans, and Indians living there. This novel consists of 10 vignettes tracing their lives in the mission field, from their arrival in that forbidding territory and their labors among the various classes of people. Then it ends with the deaths of the two men. Cather painted glowing descriptions of the American Southwest, with sympathy for its people. This novel was based on the writings of an actual missionary who lived there at that time. A "must-read."

[trgllylibrarian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sometimes the forms of piety held up as good examples in the story were a bit repellant to me, but I feel like it accurately describes the attitudes of people living at the time. Overall, I came to sympathize completely with Bishop Latour. It was particularly interesting because of the description of the land of New Mexico--it was very familiar and I could tell Cather had been to NM. I also liked getting a detailed, colorful picture of the mixture of people and cultures in the region at the time. In some ways, it was the same as New Mexico is today.

[vcg610 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Death Comes For The Archbishop is an American classic featuring two French Catholic missionaries in the extremely foreign territory of New Mexico in the 1870's. New Mexico has just been annexed by the United States and the Catholic Church in Rome decides that they must send priests to that remote area to shepherd the Indians and Hispanics that were now only nominal Catholics; their forefathers having been converted when the Franciscan missionaries of Spain had passed through that land in the 1500's. The church of Rome recognizes that the future of the Catholic faith in the New World is at stake. The faith of the people has mixed with ancient traditions of the Indian people and is now diluted by the worldly conduct of many of the existing priests.Father LaTour and his boyhood friend Father Vaillant are serving in Ohio when they receive the call from Rome. It takes a year or two for them to receive the instructions to go and about that long to traverse the United States to get to the destination, Santa Fe, New Mexico. But when they finally arrive, the Mexican priests refuse to acknowledge their authority. It takes a trip on horseback into Old Mexico to get the okay from the Bishop of Durango, whom the New Mexican priests recognize as authoritative in matters related to the church.LaTour and Vaillant patiently work and serve, traveling all over the huge territory to make friends, to baptize children and marry folks who have been living together without the benefit of matrimony, as many priests charge confiscatory prices for these sacraments. They meet and befriend all kinds of people including the great scout Kit Carson.The book is similar to a journal in that it is a more or less chronological listing of the events and interactions of these priests and the people they have come to serve. Their patience, wisdom and perseverance in the face of great adversity defines these men and endears them over time to the people of New Mexico. Ms. Cather's descriptions of the geography as the priests travel miles over mountains and desert land is so vivid that one can picture it's barren beauty vividly.Ms. Cather's descriptions of Father LaTour's thoughts and behavior over the years of his life in New Mexico is a picture of what a mature Christian's thoughts and behavior should be. Father Vaillant is a very different type of Christian...less intellectual; much more of a servant, but both are examples of what great faith in action looks like. And to think of all the years I spent seeing that title and assuming it was a murder mystery...thanks Book Club, and thanks Fay Guy, for leading a wonderful discussion about a very significant piece of literature!

[bayardus-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Having read Willa Cather's My Antonia before this one my expectations were probably too high. In My Antonia Cather was able to draw upon her experiences to paint a portrait of Nebraska that communicated that life vividly. That novel stuck with me, from small segments like the struggle and eventual suicide of Antonia's father to Jim Burden's final return trip to that hard land.

Death Comes for the Archbishop does not reach the heights of My Antonia, despite being a competent novel. Cather has no similar depth of experience with New Mexico to draw from like she had for Nebraska, nor does she have the experiences of a priest like she had as a pioneer. Thus, the spiritual life of Latour and Vaillant is barely explored, likewise true for the priestly duties of the two characters. The friendship between these two is the strongest part of the novel, and I enjoyed Cather's exploration of what it means to fulfill your life's ambitions and have to go on living, but it seemed like there could have been a deeper exploration of what it means to have faith in such circumstances, and what the life of a missionary entails psychologically.

Fine writing, with good imagery and realistic depictions of friendship and growing older, but this book didn't convey a depth of understanding like My Antonia did. For a more interesting exploration of the thoughts of a religious man and an aging man, check out Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.