Global Engagement

Willa Cather’s most famous book Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927), based on the true story of two nineteenth-century French missionaries to New Mexico, is regularly listed among the greatest American novels of the twentieth century. In it, Cather addresses the theme of this series: the paradoxical relationship between the Church’s missionary task and the Christian call to recognize and accept the culture and character of others. In contrast to most literary treatments of the clergy, her priests are exemplars of a life well lived. The delicate portrayal of Archbishop Latour’s inner and outer religious life, along with that of his childhood friend and companion, the warm, energetic Fr. Vaillant, is a rare celebration of the value of an enlightened, humane, Catholic vocation—written, remarkably, by someone who was not herself Catholic.

In this talk, Clare Asquith will explore Willa Cather's unusual portrait of two missionary priests who combine spiritual conviction with profound knowledge and respect for diverse classes and cultures, and contrast it with less positive treatments of the Christian clergy in other late nineteenth century and early twentieth century works of fiction.