Diary of a Country Priest

In the village of Ambricourt, the new parish priest keeps a diary in which he confesses insecurities about his faith, inexperience, and worsening health. Only Miss Louise attends daily Mass, highlighting his isolation and the fragility of his situation. He sustains himself on a sparse diet of bread, wine, and sugar due to an undiagnosed stomach ailment.

He asks the Count of Ambricourt for funds to start a Catholic youth club and a sports program to win over the villagers. His mentor, the seasoned priest of Torcy, counsels him to project strength and to earn obedience through respect rather than affection. This advice foreshadows a clash between idealism and the demands of village politics.

The Count and Countess mourn their late son, and the Count begins an affair with Louise, Chantal's governess. Both Countess and Chantal are aware of the affair, with the Countess accepting it while Chantal grows resentful. The priest becomes entangled in the drama through Louise's complaints and fragile domestic tensions.

Louise complains to the priest that Chantal mistreats her, prompting the priest to plan a talk with the Count. The Count initially welcomes the priest but grows cold when the subject turns to Chantal and Louise's affair, signaling that he expects the priest to look the other way. Louise suggests that the priest request a transfer to another parish.

As his health deteriorates, the priest struggles to maintain faith and purpose. The Torcy priest directs him to see Dr. Delbende, who examines his abdomen but offers no diagnosis. Later, Dr. Delbende commits suicide, a tragedy that echoes the village's despair and underscores the fragility of even trusted healers.

To remove Chantal from the looming drama, the Count and Louise plan to send her to boarding school. Chantal seeks the priest's guidance but he detects a suicidal impulse beneath her bravado and struggles to offer solace. She leaves the meeting more unsettled than reassured.

The priest visits Chantal to discuss her distress, but he unintentionally intimidates her into handing over her suicide note. She submits, though her terror is evident, and privately vows to ruin him in retaliation for the perceived manipulation.

The priest goes to the embittered Countess on Chantal's behalf and urges reconciliation with God, insisting that God is not a torturer. That night, the Countess writes a note of thanks and dies of a heart condition. Chantal overhears the exchange and falsely accuses the priest of driving her mother to despair.

The Count arranges for a church investigator to interrogate the priest, hoping to force his exile. The priest refuses to exonerate himself with the Countess's letter, suggesting it may be protected by the seal of confession. The confrontation deepens the priest's isolation in the village.

Chantal taunts the priest with a vow to sin for sin's sake, but she ultimately confesses that she was moved by the comfort he gave her mother. She asks for his 'secret,' and he replies that it is a lost one, hinting that others will find and lose it in turn as they pass it on.

After a hemorrhage, the priest travels to Lille for diagnosis and learns he has terminal stomach cancer. He visits his former classmate Dufrety, who now lives with a woman out of wedlock, and faints in his flat. Dufrety's partner cares for him as he dies, and the priest asks for absolution before passing away.

In his last exchange, Dufrety questions whether an ex-priest can perform rites, but the dying priest replies that it does not matter and proclaims that all is grace. His final words affirm a religious philosophy of mercy beyond clerical status.