47 to go on the Racine list.

The careers of two French priests, Joseph Vaillant and Jean Latour, in New Mexico territory in the middle 1800s. The book really reads like a series of connected short stories as the two labor for the church among the Mexicans and Indians. They are almost killed by an outlaw until warned away by the rogue’s wife. Father Latour almost dies of thirst in the desert at one point and is forced to take refuge in a cave on another when he and his Indian guide are caught in a winter storm. They attempt to deal with a local priest who has set up his own kingdom. Father Vaillant travels to Colorado to be the priest for the miners arriving for the gold rush. Through it all, the two remain dedicated to their mission and to their friendship.

There’s some Catholic doctrine mixed in, particularly related to Mary worship. I enjoyed most of the book as the story of two likeable men and an account of an area of Western history I haven’t read before.