Father Forthill

Father Anthony Forthill is a human male and a Roman Catholic priest. He is assigned to the church and parish of Saint Mary of the Angels in Chicago. He first appears in Grave Peril.

Description
Throughout the series, he aids Harry Dresden and Michael Carpenter during times of crisis by hiding, feeding, or providing counsel. Forthill once tried to convert Harry, and enlist him as a soldier of God.

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

Forthill trained as a lawyer and passed the bar exam before entering the priesthood. He sometimes takes a pro bono case, and occasionally does some work for the diocese. He is also a member of the Chicago Alliance.

As a young man, Forthill got an Eye of Thoth tattoo on his arm, when he, along with a group of other young priests-to-be (including Father Vincent),  killed a vampire one night, and swore to take on the forces of darkness. The group eventually drifted apart.

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

Grave Peril
In Grave Peril, Harry sends a girl, Lydia to his care. She is being followed by a 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 demanding Lydia, then how Lydia fell into despair and tried to go out to it to spare Forthill.

Death Masks
In Death Masks, Forthill greeted Harry and the three Knights of the Cross. Michael Carpenter entrusted the Denarian Coin, Ursiel, into his keeping. Forthill had asked Father Vincent not to hire Harry Dresden to find the Shroud of Turin. Michael said that Forthill and Vincent disagree on how to handle matters of the supernatural.

Later, Forthill answered the door at the Carpenter home letting Harry and Susan in. He was holding down the fort with the Denarians in town—Charity Carpenter took the kids to her parents home, while Michael Carpenter and Sanya were sent on a wild goose chase to get them out of town. Forthill told Harry what he know's about the Denarians and Nicodemus Archleone—Shiro Yoshimo is the only Knight to have survived an encounter with Nicodemus. Forthill also told Harry about Lasciel, the coin that Nico offered him.

Harry spotted the Eye tattoo on his arm that the corpse in the morgue had. Forthill told Harry that Father Vincent has one too, which tipped Harry to the fact that corpse was the real Vincent, and the one he'd been hired by was an imposter, a Denarian: Quintus Cassius.

Proven Guilty
In Proven Guilty, Forthill accompanied Charity Carpenter to the SplatterCon!!! hotel to pick up Molly. He took in Charity and the kids at Saint Mary of the Angels after three Phobophages attacked the Carpenter home.

"Something Borrowed"
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.

Changes
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.

Ghost Story
In Ghost Story, Forthill attended a meeting of the Paranet and the 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 he won't tell Murphy about Fitz and he'll decide what to do with him according to his conscience.

Later, 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.

Trivia

 * 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.