My Pilgrimage to Chimayó

Join me in suffering like a good soldier of Christ.
~ 2 Timothy 2:3

Chimayó is an historical site in Northern New Mexico. It is considered Holy Land to Chrisitians as well as the Tewa tribe. Thousands of Peregrinos, Pilgrims, make the journey every year to Chimayó from all over the world. Many New Mexicans make an annual pilgrimage during the Holy Week and walk from Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos...Holy Week is the last week of Lent and starts with Palm Sunday and includes Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. This sacred site was the original site of a Tewa mineral spring, where many miracles are believed to have occurred. El Santuario de Chimayo, a catholic chapel, was built there in 1816.  When the spring dried up, the people still came for the dirt that they felt had healing powers. 

The chapel walls have numerous reredos, brightly painted wooden screens, and bultos, statues, of saints which have been restored over the years.  There are rooms to the side of the altar. In the far back room is a hole in the ground called a pozito, where the holy dirt is - visitors collect holy dirt and also holy water to take with them or rub on parts of their bodies that need healing. It can be gathered in a container that you bring or one purchased from the on site gift shop. In the other room are more altars and the walls are filled with pictures of those that are requesting prayers and old crutches left by those who profess they have been healed.
During the Bataan Death March in World War II, many New Mexican soldiers prayed to the Santo Niño de Atocha, and believed they survived as a result of those prayers. After the war ended, some of those same soldiers began an annual tradition of walking to el Santuario de Chimayó. Individuals can make the pilgrimage alone and make arrangements for someone to follow them and transport them back or can take the pilgrimage with a group. Several churches in New Mexico make pilgrimages during the week before Easter.  

I made arrangements to do the pilgrimage with a church group from Santa Fe, Santa Maria de la Paz Parish. The group left at 6am from Santa Fe, but picked up more people at the Sacred Heart Church in Nambé. When I arrived at the Church, I was told the group had already passed by there. The pilgrimage from Nambé is 8 miles. I was a little nervous but had faith and set out on the trek alone and bout a mile into my walk, I caught up with the group.  

The Santa Maria Reverend, Daniel Balizan, walked the pilgrimage also. The group collectively carried a large wooden cross with petitions for prayer and healing attached to it. The bus followed the group and provided rest for the elderly that could not make the whole journey and also had a restroom facility. Those that stayed on the bus prayed and shared readings with the group. 

I went ahead of the large group of pilgrims and walked most of the journey by myself. Toward the end, a small group of men from Santa Fe - some of whom have been making the journey for 40-50 years, caught up with me and finished the last few miles with me.

We got to the chapel ahead of the large group. When the main group of pilgrims arrived to the sanctuary, they entered singing. Reverend Balizan presided over mass at the chapel. There were prayers, readings, Holy Communion, and lots of singing. The songs were almost all in Spanish. The Reverend said a few words at the beginning of the service. He talked how great Holy Week is because it is a time when God is in our midst. He shared how he loved all of the rituals and ceremonies of the week, but cautioned us to live the rituals that are a part of the religion or they mean nothing. He also talked of the spiritual death that we all must experience before we are given new life. After the service ended, we had time to visit the museum and shops, then the bus took us back to our cars. 

Chimayó holds a special significance to Catholics, but I doubt many could visit and deny the sanctity of the site. It was an amazing experience and visiting by way of a pilgrimige makes it all the more powerful. 

THANK YOU Santa Maria de la Paz for adopting me into your family and letting me be a part of the pilgrimage to Chimayó.