Father Forthill

Father Anthony Forthill is a human man, and a priest. He is stationed at Saint Mary of the Angels in Chicago. He is first introduced in Grave Peril.

Description
Throughout the series, he aids Harry Dresden and Michael Carpenter during times of crisis by hiding, feeding or providing counsel.

Appearance
Harry describes Ftr. Forthill as a greying man of slight build and only medium stature, bright blue eyes and wire-rim glasses. His eyes are the color of robin's eggs.

Details / About

 * In Grave Peril, Forthill tried to convert Harry, enlist him as a soldier of God.


 * He is a member of the Chicago Alliance.


 * He can also sense spirits to a degree, but not hear or see them.

In the Series
In Grave Peril, Harry sent a girl, Lydia to his care. She was being followed by a hostile spirit. Harry and Michael go to visit him the next day. Forthill relates the events of the night before, how a frightening spirit rampaged outside the church demading Lydia. How Lydia fell into despair and tied to go out to it to spare Forthill.

In Proven Guilty,

In "Something Borrowed", he held the true wedding service between Georgia and Billy Borden in St. Mary's, after their planned wedding had been invaded by the Faerie Jenny Greenteeth.

In Changes, Harry enlisted Forthill's assistance in gaining information about the Red Court activities around Chichén Itzá with Molly's help. Later, when Stevie D attempts to kill Harry, he tackles the gunman. Once the killer is contained, Forthill fills Harry in on what he's learned about the Reds and informs him of a church in the area that can aid in sanctuary and evacuation. At the end, Maggie is entrusted to his care and secrecy.

In Ghost Story, Forthill attended a meeting of the Paranet & Chicago Alliance. He's one of the few members that doesn't fear Molly Carpenter and chastises her for her actions. Harry's ghost took Fitz to Forthill at Saint Mary's to get food and cleaned up. Forthill asked Harry to prove it's him—he does so by having Fitz knock on the wall where his secret compartment is. Harry found Forthill in the kitchen where he senses Harry and tells him that Hhe won't tell Murphy about Fitz and he'll decide what to do with him according to his conscience.

Later in Ghost Story, Butters and Fitz found Harry's ghost in his grave at Graceland Cemetery and told him that Forthill was taken by Aristedes who is probably torturing him. When Harry found Forthill beaten near death, an Angel of Death was assigned to protect his soul if he died, so that evil spirits and the Fallen couldn't claim it. After Fitz stood up to Aristedes and took over the gang, Fitz had Zero call the EMTs for him and when they loaded Forthill into the ambulance, the angel was gone. The father would be OK.

Anecdotes

 * Forthill once blessed a five-gallon drum into holy water for Harry Dresden.


 * Forthill will baptise Michael's expectant son.


 * Forthill found it interesting that Harry's ghost could walk around inside the holy ground of Saint Mary's when other spirits couldn't.