History Main / GoodShepherd

* DonCamillo Tarocci, title character of a series of stories by Giovanni Guarreschi, is the hard-fisted, hot-tempered, but good-hearted priest of an Italian village in the '50s and '60s. The local Communist party, especially the village mayor, gripe about him as a reactionary -- but they don't want anyone ''else'' performing their religious sacraments, thank you very much.

-->''"No. He believes in his gods, and is incorruptible. He knows nothing about this. He will obey the oracle. It was all Thutmekri's plan. Knowing the Keshani would consult the oracle, he had Zargheba bring me with the embassy from Zembabwei, closely veiled and secluded."\\
"Well, I'm damned!" muttered Conan. "A priest who honestly believes in his oracle, and can not be bribed.''
* The Reverend Septimus Harding in the Barchester novels by AnthonyTrollope

* In RobertAHeinlein's ''Space Cadet'', when persuading the hero that an apparent accident was a real one and not a put on job to scare the candiates, someone asks him whether he has ever heard of St. Barbara, explains that she is the patron of those in dangerous occupations, and tells him that if he goes to the chapel dedicated to her, he will find that the priest is saying Mass for those who died in the accident. This convinces him, because of course the priest would not fake such a thing.

Abel Nightroad from {{TrinityBlood}}. A priest/special agent for the post-apocalyptic Vatican. Abel is very kind, and through a combination of comedic melodrama and sheer feather-brainedness tends to come off as a harmless ditz. [[{{LetsGetDangerous}} But when the wolves come...]]

Abel Nightroad from TrinityBlood. A priest for the Vatican, whose very kind but also silly and has a tendency to be overdramatic. [[{{LetsGetDangerous}} But when the wolves come]]

* Don Camillo Tarocci, title character of a series of stories by Giovanni Guarreschi, is the hard-fisted, hot-tempered, but good-hearted priest of an Italian village in the '50s and '60s. The local Communist party, especially the village mayor, gripe about him as a reactionary -- but they don't want anyone ''else'' performing their religious sacraments, thank you very much.

* Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty in ''The Scarlet and the Black'', which is based on the real story of a priest working at the Vatican, who took in Jews and POWs, hiding them from the Nazis.

The SaintlyChurch is, of course, replete with them, but even the CorruptChurch may have several -- usually low-ranking. Indeed some can be found ministering to the unfortunate of the WretchedHive. Voluntarily. The downside of their being able to act as the GoodSamaritan is that they have many more people who need help, and indeed, TheHero may find himself needing to give more help than he gets. He may also feature as TheMissionary, in which case TheHero may find help in even less likely locations -- but again, will be limited in resources.

** ''Discworld/SmallGods'' also [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructs]] the whole "shepherd" concept, by suggesting the Omnian church might have been different if Om's first encounter wuth a human had been with a goatherd:

* The Rev. Adam Smallbone in {{Rev}}. He may be flawed, but when it comes to it, he always does the right thing.

* MercedesLackey's first Free Bards novel had a venial priest refuse to marry two wandering bards. A few days later the bards found one of these Good Shepards, voluntarily exiled to a little backwater, who obliged.

** Don Camillo is also very much a BadassPreacher. He and the mayor often settle their differences with their fists.