Don Manuel is a dedicated, intellectual priest who chose to remain in his rural childhood village to support his widowed sister's children and avoid solitude. He actively engages in community life by mediating disputes, comforting the sick, and organizing activities to ensure his parishioners' happiness. Despite his public serenity and reputation for saintliness, he wrestles with a private melancholy and inner doubts that he works tirelessly to conceal from his flock.

Angela is the perceptive, maternal narrator of the novella, raised partly on the secular books left by her late father and partly in a traditional Catholic school in Renada. She holds a deep, protective affection for her village priest, whom she regards as a spiritual father figure. Her inquisitive nature leads her to notice the unspoken burdens carried by those around her.

Lázaro is Angela's older brother, a pragmatic and progressive thinker who spent years working in the Americas to fund his sister's education. He returns home with a disdain for rural traditions and religious orthodoxy, aiming to liberate his family from what he views as an ignorant lifestyle. His secular mindset quickly creates tension between him and the village's deeply held faith.

Blasillo is a local boy with cognitive disabilities who feels a profound, unconditional adoration for Don Manuel. He frequently trails after the priest and echoes his words, finding comfort in the man's compassionate presence. He represents the village's innocent, unquestioning trust in their spiritual leadership.

Acting as a meta-textual narrator, he frames the story by providing historical context and philosophical reflections. He presents himself as an intellectual guide who uncovers Angela's memoir, offering commentary on the boundaries between fiction, reality, and the nature of belief.

A traditional Catholic woman living in Valverde de Lucerna who fully entrusts her spiritual life to the church. She dismisses the secular ideas her late husband once championed, preferring the comfort and structure provided by Don Manuel's pastoral care.

The late patriarch of the Carballino family who possessed a worldly, educated mindset. Though he is deceased before the main events of the narrative begin, the literature he left behind significantly shapes the intellectual curiosity of his daughter.

A local village man involved in a complicated personal situation regarding a former partner. Guided by compassionate counsel, he makes the generous choice to marry his ex-girlfriend and adopt her child.

A village woman who faces potential social stigma after returning home with a child born out of wedlock. She is integrated back into the community's fabric through a mediated marriage.