When you're visiting Santa Fe New Mexico, there is a very unique side trip which attracts people from all over the world. You would certainly find this enjoyable northern New Mexico side trip to definitely be a one of a kind and a visit not to be missed.The photo at left is of the beautiful El Sanctuario de Chimayo located in the very scenic town of Chimayo New Mexico. It is a Roman Catholic church, a part of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and a shrine. The church is a National Historic Landmark.
This Catholic church and shrine is noted for the amazing story of it's founding. In the early 1800's the land where the shrine now stands belonged to Don Bernardo Abeyta who was one of the few original settlers in that area. In 1810, a relative, Fernando Abeyta, built a small chapel on the site named Christ of Esquipulas which was the name of a pilgrimage site in Guatemala.
There are a few different versions of events of how the site became world famous as a shrine. One is that Abeyta or a Spanish friar saw a shining bright light and proceeded to dig up a crucifix from where the light was emanating from. They gave the crucifix to Father Sebastian Alverez, a nearby parish priest, who took it to the Chimayo church. The story is that the crucifix strangely kept disappearing and then reappearing at the site where it was first discovered. This supposedly happened three times. It was at this point that all involved decided to build a chapel directly on this site to keep the crucifix.
Another version is that Abeyta was sick and saw a vision of his patron saint, San Esquipa, and when he went to where the saint appeared, and knelt in prayer, he was cured.
The third version of events says that the crucifix was brought to the area by a priest from Esquipulas along with the first Spanish settlers. The priest was reportedly killed by Indians and buried with the crucifix. The body and the crucifix were unearthed by floods in 1810 and local people dedicated the chapel and shrine to the Christ of Esquipulas. While no one knows for sure which event is accurate, the site has been called the "Lourdes of America" by many pilgrims. What is known as fact is that in 1813 Father Alverez sent a letter to the Episcopal See of Durango telling them of the healing going on at Sanctuario Chimayo. In this letter Father Alvarez chronicled some of the stories given to him by people traveling to the chapel to be healed.
There are two historic buildings on the site. One is the church El Sancturario de Chimayo and the other is what is called "el pocito" which is a pit of holy dirt which many people claim has miraculous curative powers. There are also many historic pieces of Spanish art within the chapel. I think you'll find a very good collection of New Mexican art there. Today you will find many visitors who take the soil as a curative for themselves or for people in need who are unable to make the journey to Chimayo. This practice has been going on for 200 years.
During Holy Week each year some 30,000 people travel to El Sancturario de Chimayo from all over the world. Some pilgrims are noted to walk all the way from Albuquerque to Sanctuario Chimayo each year, a distance of aboput 90 miles. If you are traveling the highways between Albuquerque and Santa Fe at that time of the year you will most likely see some of these pilgrims on their long journey. What started out as a remote holy site which was visited by the Indians, turned into a mecca for the Spaniards, the Mexicans after them and then to people from overseas.
A visit to El Sancturario de Chimayo is an excellent addition to your New Mexico vacation planner. As you can see from the pictures, the chapel and grounds are beautiful and the ride from Santa Fe is a great picture taking opportunity.
To reach El Sancturario de Chimayo from Santa Fe go north on US Hwy 285 toward Espanola. Drive north about 20 miles and then turn right on County Road 88. Go about 3 miles and then turn right on NM 76 and you'll be in Chimayo. As you can see it's a fairly short drive and i might add quite a scenic one.
