Death Comes for the Archbishop

Several years after Latour arrived in Santa Fé, his diocese was extended once more by the Gadsden Purchase. However, because the exact borders of the new United States are not completely clear, Vaillant has to go all the way to Mexico to coordinate with the bishops there. On his return, Vaillant catches malaria, and he is sick for almost two months.

It is May, “the month of Mary.” Vaillant is well enough to appreciate Latour’s blossoming garden, which had been laid out six years ago with fruit trees from St. Louis. Vaillant has trained Fructosa’s husband Tranquilino as a gardener, and now many trees in the town are blossoming. But these more familiar fruit trees stand in contrast with the age-old tamarisk trees, long neglected but still surviving. Latour thinks these trees match the adobe perfectly, while Vaillant loves that they are a familiar feature in front of every house.

For years, Vaillant has not been able to devote the entire month of May to Mary worship. But now, his sickness gives him time to focus on his prayers to her. Vaillant recalls his youth, when he had convinced a Seminary teacher of the importance of this month. Vaillant also thinks about his sister Philomène, whom he had been close to ever since their mother died. Vaillant still feels guilty about leaving his family for America, though he knows that it was a necessary “betrayal of family trust for a higher trust.”

Latour hopes Vaillant will stay in Santa Fé all summer, but Vaillant wants to leave in July to go to Tucson, where he hopes to enliven the Catholic population. Vaillant recalls years ago, when a Pima convert had shown him a cave filled with indigenous treasure, something no white man had ever seen.

Vaillant is insistent that his “particular sympathy” for Mexican customs makes him the only man for this job. Though Latour is greatly disappointed to lose his friend again, after a short walk around the garden, he resolves to let Vaillant go. As the two men reflect on their friendship, they notice a great flock of birds alighting upon Magdalena. Vaillant reflects that the church’s impact on this young woman’s life is akin to the church’s impact in the early days of Christianity. Vaillant calls to her, telling her to come talk: “two men grow lonely when they see nobody but each other.”