Death Comes to Wyandotte

This novel will not be shipped until January.

Bishop J. Donald Doherty was chuckling at the large map of his diocese that covered most of his desk, its parish churches marked by bright blue crosses, the parish boundaries by dotted blue lines, their schools and the diocesan high school by (of course) little red schoolhouses, the cemeteries by bright green crosses. Near the northern edge of his fief lay a lonely blue cross, circled by him, a moment ago, in heavy black ink. He pressed the intercom button on his phone.

“Ed, you remember that strange letter from those people calling themselves Saint—what was it? Ambrose? Aquinas?” Asking for the old Mass? I’m going to give them Forty Martyrs.”

“Don, you can’t do that—er, sorry.”

“Relax, Ed. Haven’t had so much fun in years. It’s perfect.”

~ ~ ~

Double doors with glass windows led into the nave, which was carpeted in surgical green, with brown spots scattered about, some bearing fresh bits of ceiling tile. Just inside the doors stood a wide concrete birdbath, evidently a combination baptismal font and stoup, with two small birds of the same material perched on the rim. The free-standing altar directly ahead bore a festive drape of pale blue satin, richly ornamented with vines and flowers. The tabernacle of indeterminate metal with abstract dove stood on a narrow shelf beyond it, flanked by thirsty-looking ferns in green plastic trugs.

“Fern bar,” Houghton commented brightly.

~ ~ ~

Few of his parishioners had ever heard of Septuagesima, he was sure. Sometimes he thought he knew how the Irish felt when they labored to restore Gaelic, or the Israelis when they revived Hebrew as a spoken language.

Praise from Readers

"It is no accident that Death Comes to Wyandotte calls to mind the great work of Willa Cather, because Elizabeth Altham's splendid writing mirrors hers. She brings an easy erudition to a gripping story of life in a traditional Mass parish located in a challenging rural setting. Altham's tragicomical account of two young priests navigating the debris of a post-conciliar church is a page-turner. Her light touch lends an even greater force to a bittersweet tale. Move over, J.F. Powers." -Rev. John A. Perricone, author of Torches Against the Abyss

"This is a true story-or should be-about two young priests who are exiled by their bishop to a dying parish in the hinterlands. There they must come to grip with the dying of persons both natural and unnatural. Much to the chagrin of the Church leaders, the salt-of-the-earth parishioners respond heartily to the old-fashioned manners of their new clergy, and support them in the greatest trauma of all." -Duncan Stroik, Professor of Architecture, University of Notre Dame

"Wyandotte is about life well-lived by hardworking people in a Midwestern rural parish run by two blessedly agreeable, hardworking priests. They have the kind of rectory you want your favorite priests to live in. Fathers Hopkins and Houghton love their parishioners and secure them in their desires to know and love the Faith of the ages. The book delightfully fills that literary gap in your bookshelf reserved for 'restoration of spirit.'" -Priscilla Smith McCaffrey, author of Christmas Blossoms

"Like Willa Cather, Elizabeth Altham channels the beauty of the Midwest into a quietly triumphant celebration of hope and faith. Priests and parishioners alike can experience the value of the ordinary daily life of our respective callings." -Maggie Gallagher, executive director, Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship