Who is Father Geary from Cold Fire and what is their importance?

Father Geary is a slightly plump man of about fifty years of age. He is balding, has thick eyebrows and a nose that has a squashed quality to it. He is a gentle man with sometimes wavering faith who is the custodial Father of Our Lady of the Desert church. When Jim appears in his church, dehydrated and on the verge of sunstroke, Father Geary takes him in and nurses him back to health. The local paper has printed a story about the recent rescue and Geary knows or at least suspects who Jim is, but also realizes that Jim left the scene to preserve his privacy and he respects that.