Death Comes for the Archbishop Character Analysis

Jean-Marie Latour

Jean-Marie Latour is the first bishop (later Archbishop) of the expansive Santa Fé diocese, spanning almost the entire American Southwest. Latour is closely based on the historical figure Jean-Baptiste Lamy (1814–1888); both the real… read analysis of Jean-Marie Latour

Joseph Vaillant

Joseph Vaillant is Latour’s vicar in the Santa Fé diocese; by the end of the novel, he has become the first-ever bishop of Colorado. Vaillant is closely based on the historical figure of… read analysis of Joseph Vaillant

Jacinto

Jacinto is a member of the Pecos tribe who acts for many years acts as a guide to both Latour and Vaillant. Jacinto frequently displays a deep knowledge of both the Southwestern landscape and… read analysis of Jacinto

Eusabio

Eusabio is a prosperous farmer and rancher in the Navajo tribe. Eusabio and Latour have been friends for decades; Latour is a key support system when Eusabio loses his beloved son, and Eusabio is one… read analysis of Eusabio

Manuelito

Manuelito is the leader of the Navajo tribe, living in exile in western New Mexico after Kit Carson has forced the rest of the tribe further east. Though Manuelito only appears once, after Eusabio introduces… read analysis of Manuelito

Antonio Jose Martínez

Antonio Jose Martínez is the priest at Taos. More than anyone else in the diocese, Martínez openly flouts Latour’s rules, especially when it comes to celibacy. Alongside his old friend Marino Lucero and… read analysis of Antonio Jose Martínez

Marino Lucero

Marino Lucero is the longtime priest at the village of Hondo Arroyo. Lucero is one of Martínez’s oldest friends; he is also a mentor to Trinidad, who may or may not be his… read analysis of Marino Lucero

Trinidad

Trinidad is a young priest who works closely with (and is mentored by) Martínez and Lucero. Though Martínez claims that Trinidad is Lucero’s nephew, Señora Carson suggests that Trinidad might actually be Martínez’s own… read analysis of Trinidad

Antonio Olivares

Don Antonio Olivares is a wealthy ranchero (rancher), and one of the most prominent men in all of Santa Fé. In addition to being Isabella’s husband and Inez’s father, Olivares also has a… read analysis of Antonio Olivares

Isabella Olivares

Doña Isabella Olivares is Antonio Olivares’s second wife and Inez Olivares’s mother. Born in New Orleans and educated in France, Isabella blends a devout Catholicism with a love of fine parties and gossip… read analysis of Isabella Olivares

Inez Olivares

Inez Olivares is Isabella and Antonio Olivares’s daughter. Inez, in her 40s and unmarried, lives in New Orleans, though she comes to visit her family in Santa Fé once a year. Unlike her highly… read analysis of Inez Olivares

Kit Carson

Christopher “Kit” Carson, known to many in the novel as “Cristobal,” was an important fur trapper, explorer, and member of the United States army. In both the Civil War and the Mexican-American War, Carson led… read analysis of Kit Carson

Señora Carson

Known only in the novel as Señora Carson, the real-life Kit Carson’s wife was named Josefa Jaramillo, the daughter of a prominent Taos family. Josefa and Carson had seven children together and were married… read analysis of Señora Carson

Magdalena

Magdalena, Buck Scales’s wife, first meets Latour and Vaillant when she warns them of her husband’s murderous behavior. After Magdalena is able to escape her abusive relationship, she reunites with Kit Carson (whom she… read analysis of Magdalena

Buck Scales

Buck Scales is a white hunter, raised in Texas but now living just outside of Taos, New Mexico, with his wife Magdalena. Scales is notable for his fearsome appearance and his even more fearsome… read analysis of Buck Scales

Manuel Lujon

Manuel Lujon is a wealthy Mexican ranchero (rancher), and one of the first people Vaillant bonds with after arriving to his new vicariate. The warm-hearted Lujon wants to ensure that all of his various… read analysis of Manuel Lujon

Bernard Ducrot

Bernard Ducrot is a young priest from Auvergne, France, who arrives to New Mexico in Latour’s final years. Ducrot acts almost as a personal assistant to Latour, who feels that the young man shares… read analysis of Bernard Ducrot

Baltazar Montoya

Baltazar Montoya was a powerful Spanish priest who worked in the village of Ácoma in the early 1700s. In order to support the large garden, fancy church, and delicious meals he desired, Montoya forced many… read analysis of Baltazar Montoya

Father Gallegos

Father Gallegos is the gregarious priest of Albuquerque, the largest and wealthiest city in Latour’s new vicariate. After Manuel Lujon warns Vaillant that Gallegos enjoys lavish parties more than religious diligence, Vaillant and… read analysis of Father Gallegos

Father Jesus

Father Jesus is the old, kindly priest for the village of Isleta. Though Jesus is nearly blind and almost childlike in his superstitions, Latour admires his “golden goodness.” Unlike most other priests in the region… read analysis of Father Jesus

Garcia Maria de Allande

Maria de Allande is a Spanish cardinal living in Rome. Maria de Allande holds a great deal of political power in the Catholic church, so Ferrand appeals directly to this astute young cardinal in his… read analysis of Garcia Maria de Allande

Father Ferrand

Father Ferrand is a French-Irish bishop, based on the real historical figure John Baptist Purcell. In both life and the novel, the bishop was placed in charge of a large diocese in Ohio, encompassing… read analysis of Father Ferrand

Philomène

Philomène is a nun and Vaillant’s sister. Because their mother died at such a young age, the two Vaillant siblings are unusually close; Vaillant struggled to leave his sister behind in France when he… read analysis of Philomène

Boyd O’Reilly

Boyd O’Reilly is the lawyer Isabella Olivares hires to help her navigate her husband’s inheritance process. As an Irish Catholic from Boston who has recently moved to New Mexico, O’Reilly is one of the only… read analysis of Boyd O’Reilly

Manuel Chavez

Manuel Chavez was a real historical figure, known for his participation in several of the most important wars of the 19th century. After fighting with the Mexican side in the Mexican-American war, Chavez later fought… read analysis of Manuel Chavez

Zeb Orchard

Zeb Orchard is a white trader and a good friend of Kit Carson’s. Many Americans consider Orchard to be an expert on indigenous practices, so Latour consults him after he travels with Jacinto to… read analysis of Zeb Orchard

Ramon Armonjillo

Ramon Armonjillo is a teenage boy from the Mexican village of Chimayo. When Ramon is involved in a cock-fighting incident, a biased American judge sentences him to be executed. But after Vaillant comes to take… read analysis of Ramon Armonjillo

Father Junipero

Father Junipero, one of the first priests to work in the New World, is by Latour’s time frequently cited to prove the existence of miracles. On his dangerously long journey to Durango, Mexico, Junipero… read analysis of Father Junipero

Sada

Sada is a Santa Fé local, the longtime servant to an abusive American family known only as “the Smiths.” Though Sada’s Protestant employers forbid her from going to Catholic church, Sada has remained devoted to… read analysis of Sada

Benito

When Latour stumbles upon a small settlement in the “Hidden Water” chapter, Benito is the grandfatherly old man who takes him in. Benito’s family has lived on the land for years, and he and his… read analysis of Benito

Molny

Molny is an architect and the son of one of Latour’s oldest friends from France. Molny helps Latour realize the stone cathedral of his dreams in Santa Fé; he also shares Latour’s belief that… read analysis of Molny

Minor Characters

Fructosa

Fructosa is Tranquilino’s wife and the live-in cook for Latour and Vaillant. Though initially Vaillant is displeased with Fructosa’s cooking, over time, she is able to make food that delights the two priests. Fructosa often works closely with Magdalena.

Tranquilino

Tranquilino is Fructosa’s husband. Alongside his wife, he is one of the main servants for Latour and Vaillant. After several years of working with the two priests, Vaillant trains Tranquilino to work as a gardener, and Tranquilino helps plant fruit trees all around Santa Fé.

Clara

Clara is Jacinto’s wife, and a fellow member of the Pecos tribe. Even as she deals with her sickly baby, Latour can tell that Clara is patient, generous, and a skilled homemaker.