Chimayo
a place of miracles and beauty
Welcome to Postcards from New Mexico! Three Sundays a month, I share beauty, stories, and culture from this region that has been my home since 2008. Paid subscribers support this Substack to continue, and enjoy these benefits:
A genuine snail-mail postcard from New Mexico!
Access to the “If you go/Local’s Tip” section of certain posts, where you’ll find valuable information to enhance your next journey to Northern New Mexico.
In acknowledgement of living on un-ceded Tewa lands, a portion of your paid subscription will support Native-led nonprofits doing good work in this region.
p.s. You might also enjoy my other Substack newsletter: The Practice of Life
Today we’re stopping by the small traditional Hispanic village of Chimayo, renowned for its santuario, and beloved by pilgrims from all over the world.
The heart of Chimayo is this beautiful adobe church, originally built in 1813. But even before its construction, this was a holy site. The Indigenous people of this area considered this a sacred place long before the Spanish arrived and the town’s name comes from the Tewa word, Tsi-Mayoh, one of four hills in the area.
After Don de Vargas’s reconquest of the area in 1692, Spanish settlers came into this valley along the Santa Cruz River. There are several versions of what happened, here’s one: On Good Friday in 1810, a local farmer, Don Bernardo Abeyta, saw a light coming from one of the hills near the river. As he came closer, he saw the light was coming up from the ground and began to dig. Abeyta found a crucifix which he thought to be Our Lord of Esquipulas, a Guatemalan image of the crucified Jesus that was quite popular at the tim. He left the cross there and returned to the village of Santa Cruz, eight miles away, to notify Fray Sebastián Alvarez. The priest walked to Chimayo and brought the crucifix back and placed it in his church in Santa Cruz. The next morning, the crucifix had disappeared — and was soon found again in its original location in Chimayo. This happened two more times. It seemed clear that the crucifix was meant to be in Chimayo.
Abeyta asked for permission to build a small chapel on the site where he found the crucifix, and permission was granted. As people came to the church to pray, some experienced miracles in the form of healing of physical conditions. As more stories of these miracles were shared, it was clear that a larger church was needed to accommodate pilgrims, and the present church was built. There’s a special room off to the side of the main altar; the earth from this spot is thought to be holy and many people collect it to bring home to loved ones in need of healing.
Now El Santuario de Chimayo is one of the largest pilgrimage sites in the United States. Every year on Good Friday and Easter weekend, people come from across the country and even around the world to walk along the main highway between Santa Fe and Taos and then the backroads that lead to the village. Residents along the pilgrimage route support them by setting up tables and giving them food and water. It’s a beautiful thing to witness, and even more so to participate in if you feel called to do so.
Chimayo is just about a half-hour drive from Santa Fe and it makes a wonderful destination for a half-day trip. You don’t have to be Catholic to appreciate the sacredness of this space, and to enjoy the serenity of this pastoral region. After you finish your time at the santuario, enjoy a traditional Northern New Mexican lunch at Rancho de Chimayo!
