Death Comes for the Archbishop

Death Comes for the Archbishop is a novel by Willa Cather, published in 1927. Based on the lives of real historical figures, it follows two French Catholic priests—Bishop Jean Marie Latour and his vicar Father Joseph Vaillant—as they establish a new diocese in the vast, wild territory of New Mexico in the mid-nineteenth century. Rather than a conventional plot, the novel unfolds as a series of interconnected episodes: missionary journeys through desert and mountain, encounters with Native American and Mexican communities, confrontations with corrupt local clergy, and quiet moments of friendship and faith.

Often considered Cather’s masterpiece, the novel is celebrated for its luminous, painterly prose and its reverent depiction of the Southwestern landscape. Cather described it not as a novel but as a “narrative,” drawing inspiration from the golden legends of Catholic saints and the frescoes of Puvis de Chavannes. The book was an immediate bestseller and is included on the Modern Library’s list of the 100 best English-language novels of the twentieth century.