Canceling pilgrimages puts community first

Pilgrimages are a tradition during Holy Week in New Mexico, whether the participants are walking to chapels in their hometowns, climbing Tomé Hill in Valencia County or, most famously, taking to the roads and highways to El Santuario de Chimayó.

Most years, tens of thousands of pilgrims walk to the santuario, traveling through day and night on foot from Albuquerque, Taos, Santa Fe, Española and other places around the state.

They gather in a small adobe church to pray, meditate and contemplate the sacrifice of Jesus dying on the cross. The sacrifice of this long walk ends the 40 days of Lent as people make their final preparations for the joy of Easter Sunday.

Now, for the second year in a row, the Archdiocese of Santa Fe is asking pilgrims to remain home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pilgrimages at Tomé Hill and the santuario are being canceled.

To underscore the point, the santuario will be shuttered from Holy Thursday to Easter Monday, according to posts on its Facebook page. That’s because a pilgrimage, so important to feed the souls of the faithful, has an impact on bodies, too.

Outdoor spread of the germs that cause COVID-19 is less common than originally believed. But the walk is not the problem when it comes to COVID-19. It’s the gathering at the end of the walk inside the adobe church that could cause harm — and church leaders understand a pilgrimage designed to honor God is not the place to spread disease.

People fill the church, a situation that doesn’t let up throughout Holy Week, especially on Good Friday. We know after a year of pandemic that crowded conditions indoors are breeding grounds for the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Even with masks, such gatherings would be a bad idea.

Such caution over the pilgrimage is in keeping with how the Archdiocese of Santa Fe has guided the faithful throughout the pandemic.

Catholic churches here have been sticklers for COVID-19 protocols, closing when infection rates are high and, when open, mandating distance and masks at every service.

It’s clear church leaders understand the broader implications of the Chimayó pilgrimage. It does not just affect the walkers or volunteers and staff at the santuario.

Managing the crowds along the highway is a massive effort, with state Department of Transportation workers sweeping roads of debris even before the walkers start. Signs are placed along the route to alert motorists and to mark the roads so the path is safe for pilgrims.

Deputies from various county sheriffs’ departments and New Mexico State Police officers increase patrols to help safeguard the paths and hand out glow sticks so walkers can be seen at night.

The pilgrimage has become a community effort. Once again, canceling it keeps the community safe.

And that sets the right example about how to behave in a pandemic. Individuals — not just because of government mandate or church decree — sacrifice their desires for the safety of the wider community.

And in doing so, the world is safer and so are they.