Father Sean Character Analysis

Father Sean is the head priest at Xiomara’s church. He’s Jamaican and speaks Spanish with an accent that makes everyone laugh and smile. As a young man he wanted to be a professional boxer, but he joined the Catholic Church instead. Xiomara used to think that Father Sean was fun and lax, but in confirmation class and as she grows, she begins to take issue with what he preaches. Specifically, she hates how he talks about a woman’s worth coming from her devotion and her virginity, not her thoughts or her intelligence. He also doesn’t answer Xiomara’s questions when Xiomara asks about Eve, original sin, and suggests that the Bible is just a metaphor. Despite these valid critiques, Father Sean does begin to position himself as an ally to Xiomara in other ways. He doesn’t believe that people should be forced into devotion, so he refuses to go along with Mami and punish Xiomara for kissing Aman and even suggests that Xiomara shouldn’t be confirmed this year. He also insists that Xiomara’s questions aren’t bad or wrong, but says she does need to think about them. Xiomara begins to see Father Sean as more of a person and not just an authority figure when he tells her that when his mother died, he wasn’t able to go home to see her. Because of this, Father Sean’s openness, and his good relationship with Mami, Xiomara feels comfortable asking Father Sean for help when she speaks to Mami after Mami burns her poetry notebook. Father Sean begins leading weekly counseling sessions with Xiomara’s family and encourages them all to talk. He also attends Xiomara’s poetry slam to cheer her on.