Located about 26 miles north of Santa Fe is the small town of Chimayo New Mexico. The towns population is a little more than 3100. It's best known a Roman Catholic Church known as El Santuario de Chimayo. Santuario is Spanish for Sanctuary. The church while famous as a National Historic Landmark is the site of a yearly pilgrimage of which nearly 300,000 people make every year. There are several legends about the holy site. One such legend is that before the Spanish had arrived a hot spring once flowed near the site that was thought to possess healing powers. This site was sacred to the Tewa Indians who are a group of Pueblo Native Americans. Actually the Pueblo Native Americans have been in the Chimayo area since the 12th century which is long before the arrival of the Spanish. The Catholic Church promotes the legend that a friar saw a light coming out of a hillside. While digging there he found a crucifix. It was removed and taken to a village a total of 3 times. Each time it disappeared and was found back in the hole in the hillside. A small chapel was built at the site. Miraculous healing began and as word spread more people began visiting the site. Over time the healing was credited to the dirt the crucifix was found in. We were traveling on the "High Road", which is a very scenic and winding road that runs through the Sangre De Cristo mountains between Santa Fe and Taos. Actually we were heading to Taos but that will be the subject of another post. Scenery we observed on the way to Chimayo Images of Santuario de Chimayo Images of the Santo Nino Chapel The town of Chimayo actually consists of a number of settlements in the Santa Cruz valley. One of them is the village of El Potrero and the Santuario is in the center of El Potrero. El Santuario de Chimayo is a well maintained small church made of adobe. Adobe is a type of clay that is sun dried and usually formed into the shape of bricks. It is commonly found in historic buildings throughout the southwestern U.S. After seeing the site where the crucifix was discovered we walked over to see the Santo Nino Chapel. The Santo Nino Chapel goes back to Spain in the 1400's when many Christian men were imprisoned and slowly starved. The only food they received was from children that visited them. A small boy became a regular visitor and brought food and water. Legends state that his basket was never empty of food and water. He became known as Santo Nino or Holy Child. More than 400 years later in New Mexico a man named Severiano Medina who was from a well to do family in Chimayo had become seriously ill. Upon his recovery as a way to thank god he made a pilgrimage to Santo Nino de Atocha in Plateros Mexico. He brought back a paper mâché statue of Santo Nino and built a chapel to honor it. It remains in the main altar of the chapel. The Stone Walk and Gardens at the Sanctuary In 1929 the Sanctuary was donated to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. In 1970 it was declared a National Historic Monument and should be seen by all visitors to Santa Fe. It was less than an hours drive from Santa Fe. The time we spent visiting El Sanctuario de Chimayo was truly a wonderful and moving experience. Don't miss out on a visit.
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