Father Cataldo is sometimes credited with fluency in up to 20 Native American languages. While this is likely an exaggeration, he certainly would have been able to converse in three or four, and exercise basic Catholic ritual in up to ten others. Add to this an ability to communicate in Italian, French, Latin and English, and there is more than enough cause for admiration. Yet it would be a mistake to call Father Cataldo a linguist, for he did not learn languages as an end unto itself. They were simply tools that allowed him to practice his calling as effectively and broadly as possible. Fluency, combined with his qualities of character, enabled Father Cataldo to become a valuable mediator within a complex network of groups. With Native Americans, he was able to enter more deeply into their culture, earning their trust while brokering their transition into a new way of life and place in society. This role as trusted intermediary proved critical during the Nez Perce War of 1877, as he crissscrossed the region calming fears and quelling a larger uprising. And with that same combination of fluency and character he could mediate across levels of authority among his own peers as well, and so become the leader they needed for a time of such great growth and change.
