This week, watch out for pilgrims
If it is Holy Week in New Mexico, then pilgrims will be walking alongside streets, roads and highways, their faith in action for all to see. By far the most famous route for faithful pilgrims to take is any road leading to El Santuario de Chimayó in Northern New Mexico. This small adobe chapel is visited by tens of thousands of people each year. Some visit in thanksgiving; others need healing or deliverance from addiction or other woes. Others come out of curiosity or simply to visit a place of faith. (Other pilgrims climb the hill in Tomé, or as in Taos, process from capilla to capilla.)
During Holy Week, though, some 40,000 of these pilgrims come on foot, walking from their homes — whether from Taos, Albuquerque, Santa Fe or points elsewhere, all headed to Chimayó. The walkers are so plentiful, in fact, that drivers should take extra care, especially at night, to avoid shoulders and keep an eye out for people where usually only cars can be found.
Once at the santuario, the pilgrims will pray in the quiet of the adobe church or stand in a line that spills out the doors into the courtyard and beyond. One by one, they will pass the altar to enter a small room to the side of the main altar. In the room, they will bend over a hole in the ground, scooping out dirt believed by many to contain healing properties. (Pilgrims who don’t take care to duck as they enter the room might need the healing sooner than later; the door to the room where the sacred earth, or la tierra biendita, can be found is quite small.)
That dirt is gathered, placed in baggies or bottles, to be carted along home to be given a place of honor on an altar or perhaps mixed with holy water and placed upon a sick person in blessing. It is this belief in the area’s healing powers — which dates back to the indigenous people who lived here before the Spanish — that now gives the shrine the nickname, the “Lourdes of America.”
The tradition of Chimayó pilgrimage, though, is of more recent origin. Evidently, captives who were taken by the Japanese in World War II in the Philippines and endured the Bataan Death March prayed to Santo Niño de Atocha, a beloved depiction of Jesus whose shrine is located near the santuario. Those who survived the rigors of war returned home to give thanks and began making pilgrimages to the town that honored Santo Niño (the chapel dedicated to the holy child was private at that time, so the pilgrims visited El Santuario instead). Some 75 years later, thousands continue to follow in their footsteps.
Whatever your faith, this act of devotion is inspiring. Watch out for pilgrims as Holy Week progresses. Slow down on U.S. 84/285 leaving Santa Fe and along the roads leading to Chimayó. Pilgrims can even be found along Interstate 25, where high speeds make their walk potentially dangerous. Take care, in other words, both drivers and walkers.
Pilgrims should be sure to wear clothing that can be seen at night (reflective tape is a good idea) and carry plenty of water. Wear a hat and comfortable shoes and bring along jackets for those chilly night temperatures. Law enforcement, first-aid and hydration stations will be placed in various spots along the route, so there will be help available for people who need it. (And by the way, pilgrims, pick up your trash as you go. It is embarrassing how full of trash the roads are in the days after the walk. People of faith should be people who don’t trash the beauty of the Earth.)
A pilgrimage is a time of prayer and contemplation. In Northern New Mexico, it marks a coming together of cultures and community, a passing along of tradition from one generation to another. It is a visible expression of faith this, and every year, that pilgrims walk.