A Bell and a Miracle
- The next morning, Latour is awakened by the sound of the church bell. It's a beautiful sound that reminds him of home in France. He gets up and asks Father Joseph how such a perfect bell could exist in Santa Fe. Joseph informs him that the bell was brought over a hundred years ago by the Spanish priests.
- Latour mentions that the Spanish originally learned how to properly work with silver from the African Moors. Joseph doesn't like hearing this because the Moors aren't Christian. He would like for his church bell to have a pure Christian history. But Latour is much more open-minded about different cultures learning from each other.
- Joseph informs Latour that there is a Mexican priest waiting to speak with him and to tell him all about his adventures in the New Mexico area. The man thanks Latour for his generosity and sits down to tell him a story.
- One day, hundreds of years ago, there was a poor man named Juan who was walking to Mexico. Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, appeared to him in the middle of the road and asked him to build a church right where she was standing. He instantly ran to the local bishop and told him the story. But the bishop wouldn't lift a finger because the guy didn't have proof of what he'd seen.
- Feeling defeated, Juan went to take care of his sick uncle, making sure to avoid the place where he saw Mary because he felt guilty for letting her down.
- A few days later, though, Juan saw Mary again. She asked why he hadn't built the church like she said, and he told her that the bishop needed proof. So she told him where he could find a bouquet of perfect roses, even though it was the middle of winter. The guy brought the roses to the bishop and let them fall to the floor. Then a portrait of Mary appeared in the middle of the roses and the bishop collapsed with happiness, promising to build the church for Mary immediately.
- According to the priest who's visiting Bishop Latour, the portrait of Mary still resides in the same chapel to the present day. Father Joseph pledges to make a pilgrimage to this shrine as soon as possible to check out the portrait.