Latour tells Vaillant he is eager for him to stay with him in Santa Fe. Vaillant responds that he hopes to be healthy enough for travel by July in order to educate Catholics who have lapsed in their practices. He equates the Indians with children who have no use for property or financial gain. He relates an anecdote of an Indian he has met who took him into a cave where his family had hidden items for performing a Catholic Mass. The Indian tells Vaillant that his family hid the items after the Catholic mission from where they were kept was attacked by Apaches. He believes the story of the artifacts is a parable of the Catholic faith being buried in the frontier waiting to be discovered. He convinces Latour that he must return to his missionary work. The priests' conversation is interrupted when Magdalena enters Latour's garden. Her appearance is accompanied by a flurry of pigeons and doves, and the priests are reminded of how much she has changed since they first met her.
The following December, Latour is feeling that his efforts are having no impact on the area. He wakes in the middle of the night to an early snowfall, and walks to the church. In front of the church is a weeping woman who Latour recognizes as Sada, a Mexican slave to a local Smith family, Protestants who publicly belittle and blaspheme the Catholic faith. The family refuses to allow Sada to practice her Catholicism, and she has escaped for the evening to pray in the chapel. Latour gives her his cloak to wear and allows her into the church, where she kisses the floor and prays with him. The experience allows Latour to see the importance of his mission: "The church was Sada's house, and he was a servant in it."
When spring arrives, Latour and Jacinto visit the Navajo Eusabio, who has recently lost a son. Latour uses the visit to reflect on his long friendship with Vaillant. Latour recognizes that Vaillant may have been a poorer student but was always more fervent in his faith. He recognizes that Vaillant is fond of good food and drink but nevertheless rigidly observes fasts. He also admires Vaillant's easy demeanor with new people. He remembers a story of Vaillant's audience with the Pope Gregory XVI. Instead of bringing the one customary item for the pope to bless, Vaillant brought two suitcases of items. He so delights the pope that the pontiff forgets several subsequent engagements.
