A towering work of twentieth-century American literature, Willa Cather's tells the story of the French Catholic priest Jean Marie Latour, the first bishop of the diocese of New Mexico, which was created after the Mexican-American War. With his friend and vicar Joseph Vaillant, Latour makes the long journey to the newly annexed territory of New Mexico. Once "the cradle of the Faith in the New World," now old mission churches have fallen into ruin and a reduced priesthood lacks guidance and discipline. Latour and Vaillant encounter a strange and unfamiliar brand of Catholicism, but in time the two priests learn to adjust to the ways of New World Catholics and open their eyes to Native American religious ideas so seemingly distant from their own beliefs.This new annotated edition of Cather's New Mexico masterpiece includes an introductory essay and notes by historian and critic Richard W. Etulain.