DESERT MISSIONARY

A novel focuses on a Jesuit missionary who is devoted to the desert tribes of New Spain in the late 17th century.

Eusebio Chino is born in 1645 in the village of Segno in the “lush hills of Northern Italy.” From an early age, he is as “bored as the lizards sunning on the hot rocks and as restless.” Inspired by his cousin Martino Martini, a Jesuit missionary who traveled to faraway China, Eusebio longs to see the world. Educated by Jesuits—he attends a Jesuit college in Germany—he shows great promise as a scholar specializing in mathematics and cartography. But while terribly ill, he pledges to follow St. Francis Xavier should he recover, which he does miraculously. Eusebio keeps his word, becomes a missionary, and gets sent to New Spain—Mexico—to minister to the many tribes there. He changes his last name to Kino in order to assure it will be pronounced properly and tirelessly devotes himself to missionary work, a relentless sense of purpose poignantly depicted by Gregory. But Eusebio constantly finds himself at loggerheads with the Spanish military, which is only interested in silver and conquest, not the souls of the tribal members, for whom the missionary develops great affection. The author’s command of the history is impeccable, and she deftly portrays the tensions Eusebio navigates between winning the trust of suspicious tribes and chastening the brutality of the Spanish soldiers. At one point, he asserts: “My hope is to discover new lands and live peaceably with these tribes—and protect them from the Spanish. These tribes are much wiser than most think. They have a natural spiritual inclination that we can guide toward Christianity.” Gregory’s treatment is short on style—her unfailing lucidity is purchased at the price of any literary sensibility. The language can be bloodlessly earnest. Nonetheless, this is a historically rigorous and thoughtful portrait of an extraordinary man.

An intelligent exploration of an impressively eventful and religious life.