Latour sends Jacinto to Arizona to deliver a letter to Vaillant. Eusabio accompanies Latour on his return to Santa Fe. During their travels, Latour notices that the Indian way is to not disturb the landscape whenever possible, whereas white men seem to assert themselves as much as possible.
Vaillant returns to Santa Fe at Latour's command but wonders why he has been there for three weeks with no reason being given. Latour takes his Vicar for a ride to show him the rock he has selected as the stone for the cathedral he plans to build. Vaillant is puzzled as to why Latour is so emphatic about the design of the cathedral and why he has been called back to Santa Fe.
Latour receives correspondence from the Bishop of Leavenworth, Kansas, that the Gold Rush of Colorado has created a need for a priest to serve the makeshift towns of tents and shacks that have cropped up near Pikes Peak. Informing Latour that the Colorado territory is under his domain, it is incumbent upon him to assign the priest. Latour tells Vaillant that he will fill the position. Although Vaillant is prepared to leave immediately, Latour orders him to stay until a custom wagon can be built and adequate provisions acquired. Vaillant reflects on a murderer he visited in Chimayo. The criminal was making a pair of boots for the patron saint of the Chimayo church. His parents would come for his execution and return home with the boots. Vaillant is certain the men to whom he'll administer in Colorado will be less devout.
Vaillant's wagon takes a month to build. Latour recognizes that the two will probably never work together again. Vaillant considers the opportunity to serve in Colorado an act of divine providence. Latour assures him that it was a coincidence, because he called Vaillant back from Arizona because of his loneliness. The Vicar leaves for Colorado, and the Bishop's loneliness is mitigated by his recognition of the presence of the Virgin Mary. He considers the wooden carving of Mary in the Santa Fe church, and the Mexican devotions to her in the form of clothing. He places their work on equal footing with Raphael and Titian, who also wardrobed the Virgin Mary in their art.
