El Santuario de Chimayo (The Sanctuary at Chimayo) is a Catholic Church and shrine located in the little town of Chimayo just a few miles north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was originally built in 1813, and rebuilt since, and is still an active church. For years it has been a pilgrimage destination, especially during Holy Week, for 300,000 or so people a year, many of whom walk long distances to ask for healing and offer prayers of Thanksgiving.
In a little side room to the church is El Pocito a small hole in the ground that contains sacred dirt that some say heals them from various ailments. I went in the room and saw El Pocito. I didn’t take a photo. It felt disrespectful to do so. I went into the church and the interior is beautiful but they explicitly asked for people not to take photos so of course I did not.
According to tradition, in 1810 the landowner, Don Bernardo de Abeyta experienced a vision of the apparition of Our Lord of Esquipulas in his field while plowing. He petitioned the local priest for permission to build the church in 1813 and replaced it with the current building in 1816. Strangely enough the Abeyta family owned the church and lived off the gifts from pilgrims until 1929 when the Spanish Colonial Arts Society in Santa Fe purchased it from the family and donated it to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
It is a beautiful building though it does look more ancient and rustic than the St Francis de Asis Church that we visited earlier that day. The tin caps on the spires give it a lot of character. It has been a National Historic Landmark since 1970.
The building is surrounded by a large complex containing a visitor center, gift shop, a sizeable outdoor worship area, and several other chapels. You can see they are geared to greet many people. There is no charge for admission and there is plenty of parking. I have never been to this before even though I had heard about it my whole life. It was a nice visit. Very cool visiting a church that has been active for over 200 years.
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