Video (3min 5sec) of still photos. Believed to be built on sacred earth with miraculous healing powers, the legendary shrine El Santuario de Chimayó, is probably the most visited church in New Mexico. The crucifix which began the original shrine still resides on the chapel alter, but for some reason its curative powers have been overshadowed by El Posito, the "sacred sand pit" from which it sprang. Each year during Holy Week thousands of people make a pilgrimage to Chimayó to visit the Santuario and take away a bit of the sacred dirt. Pilgrims walk a few yards or a hundred miles. Chimayó is located 40 miles south of Taos and 24 miles northeast of Santa Fe, about ten miles east of Espanola in the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Construction of the church shown in the photo was completed between 1814 and 1816.
In a letter dated November 16, 1813, Fr. Sebastian wrote the Episcopal See of Durango to discuss the people coming from afar to seek cures for their ailments and the spreading of the fame of the cures. It is said that the dirt from the floor of the chapel, the place that once held the miraculous crucifix, had healing powers bestowed on it by God. Close to 300,000 people each year make pilgrimages to the Santuario de Chimayo from all over the world. They come to worship, to ask for peace in the world and in their hearts, often to fulfill vows, and to feel the healing touch of God.
The "miraculous" crucifix of Our Lord of Esquipulas was found on the site of El Santuario (the Sanctuary) around 1810, buried in the dirt of the mountains in Chimayo. On the night of Good Friday in the year 1810, Don Bernardo Abeyta, who was a member of Los Hermanos de la Fraternidad Piadosa de Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno (the Penitentes), was performing the customary penance of the Society around the hills of El Potrero. Suddenly, he saw a light springing from one of the slopes of the hills near the Santa Cruz river. Don Bernardo went to the spot and noticed that the shining light was coming from the ground. He started to dig with his bare hands and found a crucifix. He left it in place and called his neighbors to come and venerate the precious finding. A group of men was sent to notify the local priest, Fr. Sebastián Álvarez at Santa Cruz.
Upon hearing the extraordinary news, the priest and people set out for Chimayo. When they arrived at the place where the crucifix was, Fr. Sebastián picked it up and carried it in a joyful procession back to the church. Once in the church, the crucifix was placed in the niche of the main altar. The next morning, it was discovered that the crucifix was gone, only to be found back in its original location. A second procession was organized and the crucifix was returned to Santa Cruz, but once again it disappeared. The same thing happened a third time. By then, everyone understood that El Señor de Esquipulas wanted the crucifix to remain in Chimayo, and so the small chapel of the Santuario was built.
