An excellent novel by Mary Doria Russell, following the path of a doomed Jesuit expedition to the newly discovered planet of Rhakat. The book is told in part by the lone survivor, Emilio Sandoz, as he attempts to explain to his superiors in the Church and all of humanity just what went wrong. The once revered priest is accused of murder and prostitution on the distant planet, and is left with mutilated hands and a torn spirit. Although it is technically science fiction, it is a story more of faith than of technology.
The sequel is Children of God.