Preacher Witting

Witting
Nationality	Columbian
Affiliation	The Founders Church of Comstock
Physical Description
Gender	Male
Hair Color	White and balding
Eye Color	Pale Gray (blind)
Appearances
Appears in	BioShock Infinite
Voice Actor	Richard Herd, Jr.

“I baptize you in the name of our Prophet, in the name of our Founders, in the name of our Lord!”

― Preacher Witting

Preacher Witting is the lead reverend of the Church of Comstock and Gatekeeper to Columbia, allowing no one into the city unless he baptizes them.

BioShock Infinite

Main article: BioShock Infinite

Post-Wounded Knee

Witting holds out his hand to Booker DeWitt.

After the Battle of Wounded Knee, Booker DeWitt came across Witting, who offered to baptize Booker and wash away his sins.

In one reality, Booker broke away from Witting's grasp and rejected the baptism. After reliving this, Booker tells Elizabeth that "a dunk in the river" wouldn't change the things he had done. It's unknown how Witting's life played out after that.

But in another reality, Booker accepted the baptism and was reborn as a different man: Zachary Hale Comstock. It was this baptism that ultimately led to DeWitt and Comstock confronting each other in 1912.

Gatekeeper of Columbia

Witting at the entrance to Columbia.

“I don't know, brothers and sisters. But this one doesn't look clean to me…”

― Preacher Witting

In the world where Booker became Comstock, Witting eventually became the man who would baptize those who came to Columbia before they entered the city. Witting thus baptizes Booker twice: once at the latter's conversion into Comstock, and again as Booker enters Columbia.

However, Comstock's reality — and, consequently that reality's version of Witting — would cease to exist when Booker replaced his alternate self, who would have become Comstock, and allowed himself to be drowned. This erased all realities were Comstock existed leaving a single survivor who had left his native reality.

Gallery

"Is it someone new?"

…he offers his hand to baptize Booker.

Witting together with some followers in the main chamber of the Welcome Center.

Behind the Scenes

A closeup of Witting's face.

• His milky white eyes suggest that Witting suffers from cataracts and is at least partially blind. This explains why he did not recognize Booker as the man who was reborn as Comstock.
• When first approached, Preacher Witting will exclaim, "Is it someone new?" This very same utterance is the phrase the player hears when encountering the first Splicer in BioShock.
• The speech given by Preacher Witting to the congregation before he is first approached by the player is based on the Hebrew song Dayenu.