A Canticle for Leibowitz

Young novice of the Albertian Order of Leibowitz performing a Lenten fast in the Utah desert; discovers the fallout shelter and Leibowitz relics; kept in the novitiate for seven years by Abbot Arkos; ultimately begins work on an illuminated copy of the Leibowitz blueprint.

Spindly, lame, girded-loined old man who appears in the desert, marks the stone covering the shelter entrance, and cryptically encourages Francis's vocation before departing.

Stern, sardonic abbot of the Abbey of St. Leibowitz; suppresses Francis's discovery, withholds his vows for seven years, seals the shelter, and hands relics to Dominicans—all as calculated political prudence to protect the canonization process.

White-habited Dominican sent from New Rome who informs Francis that the canonization case is being reopened and explains the political wisdom behind Arkos's seemingly harsh decisions.

Historical founder of the Albertian Order; former weapons specialist turned monk; organized bookleggers and memorizers to preserve human knowledge; martyred by a simpleton mob after the Flame Deluge.

Prothonotary apostolic and postulator for Leibowitz's canonization; visits the abbey to investigate relics and Francis's alleged vision; later pleads for canonization before Leo XXI in New Rome.

Hostile investigator sent from New Rome to oppose Leibowitz's canonization; aggressively cross-examines Francis seeking to discredit his testimony and the authenticity of the documents.

Master of the copyroom; watches with nervous jealousy as Aguerra praises Francis's illuminated work and instructs him to finish it.

Craggy highwayman who intercepts Francis on the mountain trail; takes the illuminated copy believing it the more valuable object, inadvertently preserving the authentic original blueprint.

Frail, meek, and kindly Pope who presides over Leibowitz's canonization and later receives Francis in private audience, reflecting on the providential irony that the illuminated copy's beauty preserved the original relic.

Brilliant secular scholar whose theoretical work on electrical essences enabled Kornhoer's arc lamp; skeptical of document authenticity but urgently wants to examine the Leibowitzian papers; dismissive of Church control over knowledge.

Abbot presiding over the abbey in Part II; ill but determined; mediates between Thon Taddeo and monastic tradition; ultimately confronts the scholar over the abbey's military vulnerability and dismisses him with dignity.

Monk-inventor who built the electric arc lamp; leads his team through a liturgical activation ceremony; briefly crushed when the abbot calls the lamp 'ghastly,' then relieved to learn it was the shock, not the device, that offended.

Elderly, half-blind librarian who opposes Kornhoer's electrical experiments as witchcraft and devil's work, resisting any changes to the library's arrangements.

Ancient hermit living on the desert mesa; claims to have been mistaken six centuries ago for a relative named Leibowitz; his impossible age implies he is the same wandering pilgrim encountered by Francis in Part I.

Nomad chieftain who mocks the monks as weak and easy prey during Thon Taddeo's journey, dismissing the value of their supposed arcane knowledge.

Priest and Church nuncio who meets with Thon Taddeo; discusses Hannegan's political machinations and agrees to forward Taddeo's request to Dom Paulo, though he privately expects refusal.

Younger priest serving as Dom Paulo's prior; relays tactical information, identifies the nomad escort, and later receives the abbot's summons as confessor.

Sardonic one-eyed abbey resident whose glass eyeball functions as a 'removable conscience'; vanishes from the abbey after Thon Taddeo's provocation, apparently stealing the scholar's boots.

Abbot of the abbey in Part III; moral center of the final section; orchestrates the starship departure, debates euthanasia with the Green Star doctor, and is mortally wounded in the nuclear attack, dying among the rubble.

Unnamed government official in Part III who fields a press conference with evasive non-answers about radiation levels and possible nuclear explosions, embodying official denial on the brink of war.

Monk and radiation monitor who reports the fallout evidence; chosen to lead the starship mission to the Centaurus Colony; wrestles with vocation and fear before accepting the call.

Zerchi's scribe; flustered by the Autoscribe machine; sent to town to transmit the radiogram by wire.

Nun who enters the laboratory and finds Brother Joshua bathing in the sink, triggering a comic scene of embarrassment.

Two-headed mutant tomato seller who haunts the abbey gates; her dormant second head 'Rachel' awakens after the bombing and encounters the dying Zerchi, representing an innocent new consciousness.

Medical worker from the Exposure Survey Team; visits the abbey to conduct radiation screening; debates euthanasia and the soul with Zerchi; secular, pragmatic, and in good faith.