The Journey by The New Mexican

El Santuario dE Chimayó

The

journey For the faithful making their way to this beloved shrine, the Good Friday pilgrimage is a public — and yet, intensely personal — reﬂection on hope A crucifix overlooks Juan Medina Road during the pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó on Good Friday. luiS SáNChez SaturNo/the New mexiCaN

Caroline Lujan makes her first pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó in 20 years on Good Friday, to honor her mother, who died five years ago. photoS by Gabriela CampoS/the New mexiCaN

t had been 20 years since Caroline Lujan’s first pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó, when she walked alongside her mother for more than 100 miles from their hometown of Chilili in Bernalillo County. Her mother died about five years ago. Just a couple of miles from the santuario Thursday, Lujan became emotional, remembering her mother and praying for other loved ones who have died in recent years. “This cross is to honor her,” said Lujan, 58, carrying a miniature crucifix across her shoulder on a handmade rosary of white beads. She’s embarked on many pilgrimages across the state, she said, but returning to this place — the beloved 19th-century Roman Catholic shrine in the Northern New Mexico village of Chimayó — was her “ultimate” experience. Each year during Holy Week, tens of thousands of people visit the santuario, a National Historic Landmark built at the site where a wooden crucifix was unearthed over 200 years ago. The crucifix hangs in the shrine’s chapel. In an adjoining room is a pit holding soil that many believe has healing power. They make the pilgrimage in pursuit of a miracle. At the start of Lujan’s first trek to the santuario two decades ago, she said four white doves had flown alongside her, her mother and two other family members. When the other two pilgrims turned back, she said, a couple of the doves also disappeared. As she and her mother reached

the shrine, four doves were perched atop it, appearing ready for their arrival. “It’s an amazing story,” she said, clutching her rosary. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it.” About halfway through this week’s 100-mile journey, a trek spread over four days, Lujan said she saw another white dove. She believes it was no coincidence. “She’s watching over me,” she said of her mother. As she walked, she prayed, recited the rosary and sang “Amazing Grace” too many times to count. She also sang Spanish hymns passed down from her grandmother. Dimas Barela, her fiancé, drove along with her in a white pickup, glancing in his rearview mirror every few miles to make sure she was safe. He took her home each night when she grew tired and then, in the morning, drove her back to the spot where she had stopped. “I’m very blessed to have her,” Barela said. “She’s truly a prayer warrior.” Faith is her identity, Lujan said, and giving thanks to God has transformed her from the inside out. “It’s changed me into being more graceful, more kind, and to not get so angry,” she said. On the last stretch of her journey Thursday, Lujan’s pace quickened, her face lit with a smile. With the shrine in sight, she felt certain a white dove would be there to greet her.

‘this cross is to honor her’

Olivia Harlow

S a t u r d a y, a p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 1 9

El Santuario dE Chimayó

The

journey to St. Jude, with thanks

or Mitzy Duran, the pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó was an opportunity to hold up her end of a deal. The 17-year-old’s brother had been ill, so she prayed to St. Jude to make him well. “My brother hasn’t been sick since. He’s been a healthy kid,” said Duran, who lives in Albuquerque and was making her third Holy Week pilgrimage to the shrine. Walking from Camel Rock Casino, 13 miles from Chimayó, Duran carried a large statue of St. Jude in a pack across her chest to thank the saint for taking care of her brother. Matt Dahlseid

Mitzy Duran, 17, of Albuquerque walks with a wooden statue of St. Jude during her pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó on Good Friday. She promised to bring the santo to thank him for taking care of her brother, who had been sick. Luis sánchez saturno/the new Mexican

a quest for healing, for 24 years and counting

he moment Holy Thursday turned to Good Friday, Nelson Tafoya stepped out of the moonlit night and into El Santuario de Chimayó to complete a pilgrimage he’s made annually for 24 years. With holy water and holy dirt in hand, Tafoya waited outside the chapel for his two brothers, who were both completing the 28-mile walk from Peñasco. “My brothers should be coming out soon. I kind of left them in the dust,” Tafoya said with a grin. He later admitted he started closer to the shrine than they did.

One of multiple family members with diabetes, Tafoya said he will bring the holy water and dirt from the shrine to bless those back home. He also sees the walk itself as a way to battle the disease. “Every chance I get, I try to get on the bicycle and go do more exercise because that’s what the doctor said. If you want to get healed from that diabetes, you’ve got to stay active,” Tafoya said. Matt Dahlseid

Nelson Tafoya, 52, of Peñasco enters El Santuario de Chimayó at midnight Thursday after walking 28 miles from Peñasco for Good Friday. This is Tafoya’s 24th year making the pilgrimage. Luis sánchez saturno the new Mexican

Extra motivation

earing a white cassock and brown shawl while carrying a cross that was taller than his frame, Juan Campos walked at a quick pace in his sneakers Friday morning down the final stretch of his 13-mile trek from Pojoaque to Chimayó. A 20-year veteran of the Good Friday pilgrimage to the historic shrine, Campos said this was the first year he felt compelled to carry a cross. “I’ve got five kids, three of mine and two [stepchildren], but I took them in and so I consider them like they’re my own blood,” Campos said. “I do this for my family, and I carry this cross for my friend Marcos, who lost his mother in November. “He has his plate really full right now,” Campos said, “so I told him, ‘You know what? I’ll do this not just for you, but for your mother, as well.’ ” Matt Dahlseid

Juan Campos of Lovington carries a cross for a friend’s mother during his pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó. This is Campos’ 20th year doing the pilgrimage but only his first year carrying the cross. Luis sánchez saturno/the new Mexican

El Santuario dE Chimayó

The

journey

Thousands of people make the annual trek to El Santuario de Chimayó during Holy Week to honor Christ. Many arrive at the church on Good Friday, carrying large crosses on their backs, patron saint figurines, rosaries or prayer books. Upon arrival, some collect dirt from the church grounds, which is believed to have healing powers. Others view Nuestro Señor de Esquipulas, an ancient crucifix that, according to legend, was discovered at the site during Easter Week in the early 1800s. phoTos by Gabriela Campos/The New mexiCaN

Dozens gathered Thursday under the blossom trees to watch the Stations of the Cross being re-enacted by 30 members of Our Lady of Sorrows youth group from Bernalillo. With a crown of thorns atop his head, Ralph Chavez played the part of Jesus for the seventh year in a row. The group is continuing its 25th year of the re-enactment with 18 years at El Santuario De Chimayó.

‘he’s my best friend’

immy Romero said he and his 14-yearold dog, Buddy, “aren’t as young as we used to be.” The Pojoaque duo have been making the pilgrimage to Chimayó for about 10 years, Romero said — not just on Holy Week but also three other times throughout the year. They’ve made more than 40 trips so far. “It’s tradition,” Romero said, smiling

softly at the scraggly mutt. “He’s my best friend.” Romero, a maintenance employee at the Cristo Rey Catholic Church in Santa Fe, said he remembers a day when he and Buddy kept a much quicker pace; now, however, they shuffle slowly down the winding roads to Chimayó, with Romero often carrying the dog. “We do it for our family,” Romero said,

referring to his two daughters, son and wife. Throughout the journey, he said, “I pray a lot.” And each time he arrives at El Santuario de Chimayó, it feels like “a prayer that’s been answered.” “It’s for God,” Romero added. “He’s suffered for our sins. This is nothing compared to what he went through.” Olivia Harlow

Jimmy Romero and his 14-year-old dog, Buddy, on the road to Chimayó. The Pojoaque duo have been making the pilgrimage to Chimayó for about 10 years, Romero said. Gabriela Campos The New mexiCaN

El Santuario dE Chimayó

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journey ‘i’m keeping this tradition for everybody’

oshua Sandoval has no qualms about shouldering a load. Starting from La Cienega, Sandoval carried not only a 30-pound cross, but also a pack full of water and snacks for those making the journey with him. Sandoval said he bears the weight to help maintain a ritual he holds dear. “It’s for the family. My kids and my wife and my friends,” Sandoval said. “I’m keeping this tradition for everybody, to not let it go.” Matt Dahlseid

Joshua Sandoval of Santa Fe carries his cross on his pilgrimage on Good Friday. Sandoval started walking in La Cienaga with his 30-pound cross. Luis sánchez saturno/the new Mexican

Diane Cordova of Albuquerque helps Robert Martinez of Albuquerque get the last of the holy water before starting her pilgrimage on Good Friday. Cordova has been walking since she was a kid, and It’s a family tradition for her. ‘Rain or snow, there is nothing that is gonna stop us,’ she said. Luis sánchez saturno/the new Mexican

‘this place is powerful’

ifting up and tilting a large metal pot in front of El Santuario de Chimayó just before sunrise on Good Friday, Diane Cordova tried to help Robert Martinez coax the last drops of holy water into his plastic water bottle. Cordova had never met Martinez, a fellow Albuquerque resident, but she understood the holy water was important to him because she knows how meaningful it is to her. Cordova said she’s been making the Holy Week pilgrimage to Chimayó every year since she was a small child. Now she’s making the journey with her kids. Choking up as she described how her mother had once crawled down the chapel aisle after an arduous walk, Cordova said she will keep coming back as long as possible. “This place is powerful. A lot of things have happened in here, so that’s what keeps us coming,” Cordova said. “I know one day I’m going to have a miracle in that place. I probably already have and just don’t know it.”

Sophia Martinez of Las Vegas, N.M., with Donkey. GabrieLa caMpos/the new Mexican

First pilgrimage

ine-year-old Sophia Martinez of Las Vegas, N.M., held tightly to a small stuffed animal she calls Donkey while she walked with her mom, older sister and a family friend on her first Good Friday pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó. At the beginning, she didn’t enjoy the group’s walk from Nambé, Sophia said, but by the end, she was having fun. “I was praying,” she said, nestling Donkey under her chin.

Matt Dahlseid

Olivia Harlow People walk Friday outside El Santuario de Chimayó. Luis sánchez saturno/the new Mexican

El Santuario dE Chimayó

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journey

David Griego makes the pilgrimage to Chimayó on Friday with a statue of the Madonna. Gabriela Campos/The New mexiCaN

‘She’s in my thoughts 24 hours a day’

Frances Lucero of Santa Fe and her sister, Christine Coriz, take a break by the fire at the Knights of Columbus Prince of Peace tent during their pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó on Good Friday. This is Coriz’s 10th year walking since she had her knees replaced. ‘I walked it again the same year I got my knees replaced,’ she said. The pair started their pilgrimage from Nambé. luis sáNChez saTurNo/The New mexiCaN

rtificial yellow roses hung from a basket on David Griego’s back that also carried a statue of the Madonna. For more than 15 years, Griego said, he’s carried the same basket and porcelain Virgin Mary; each time, the flowers are a different color to represent someone he’s thinking about as he walks. “The yellow roses are for my wife,” he said. “I walk for her every year, but this year she’s especially on my mind.” About six years ago, doctors found a series of spots on his wife’s brain, later determined to be early signs of multiple sclerosis. This year, her condition has gotten worse, he said, progressing to Stage 2, with slurred speech, memory loss and decreased coordination. Walking to El Santuario de Chimayó, Griego said, is part of his ongoing prayer for a miracle. “I pray her illness goes away, or at least that God would give it to me,” he said. “It’s all I think about. … She’s in my thoughts 24 hours a day.” His wife, Joyce, driving beside him Friday morning, called him “a very loving man, a very thoughtful man with a lot of faith. I love him very much for what he’s doing for me.” She smiled as she watched him round a turn along Juan Medina Road near the shrine. The Madonna featured Native American earrings given to Joyce several years ago and various medallions that Griego said were handed to him by strangers during his pilgrimage. Next year, Griego said, he plans to carry blue and pink flowers for children in the world who are mistreated and abused: “All the innocent kids being killed by their parents or drive-by shootings. … They don’t deserve to die.” Olivia Harlow

Adriana Nava of Santa Fe leaves a wrist band at an altar outside the santuario belonging to her niece, who asked her to pray for her after her pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó. Nava walked from Nambé. luis sáNChez saTurNo/The New mexiCaN

El Santuario dE Chimayó

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journey

Randy Mares, 27, of Santa Fe said he has walked the 26-plusmile journey to Chimayó for so many years on Good Friday that he’s lost count. Gabriela Campos/The New mexiCaN

Walk with attitude

unlight glittered on winding Juan Medina Road as the silhouette of a man dressed in camouflage and a cowboy hat appeared at the top of a hill. From a distance, 1980s thrasher rock music could be heard blaring from a pair of headphones hanging around his neck. Randy Mares, 27, of Santa Fe said he has walked the 26-plusmile journey to Chimayó for so many years on Good Friday that he’s lost count. “I don’t go to church, so I do this,” he said. Olivia Harlow

Apricot blossoms filter the moonlight at El Santuario de Chimayó on Good Friday. luis sáNChez saTurNo/The New mexiCaN

‘meditations we think about’

error attack victims. Servicemen. Victims of child abuse. Patience. Equality. Anxiety. These were a handful of the words written as prayers or intentions on 7-year-old Estrilla DeLaRosa’s cross. For four years, the Artesia girl and her family have taken a short Holy Week trek to El Santuario de Chimayó from the

corner of Juan Medina Road. They bring Sharpie markers with them and ask strangers and friends to add names or phrases to the cross, embellished with sequins and glittery jewels. The words are “meditations we think about,” Estrilla said. Olivia Harlow

Seven-yearold Estrilla DeLaRosa’s cross. Gabriela Campos The New mexiCaN

El Santuario dE Chimayó

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journey the Vegas give thanks

losing in on the end of their journey from Santa Fe National Cemetery to Chimayó, Luis Vega and his nephew stepped in stride along a road they’ve walked before. Just seven years apart, the relatives — who share the same name — like to have fun together and joke about cases of mistaken identity. “We used to work together, and when our boss would give us the check, sometimes I would cash his check and he would cash my check,” said Vega the uncle, 33, who has made the pilgrimage 10 times. This was the fourth year for Vega the nephew, who said the journey offers an opportunity to show thanks. “We always try to do our best to get over there just to appreciate life and the gifts of God — work, money, health, family, kids, everything,” he said. “We just come here to appreciate all the things that he gives us.” Matt Dahlseid Luis Vega, 33, left, of Santa Fe and his nephew, Luis Vega, 26, walk their pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó. ‘I came for God to help us be better,’ the elder Vega said. Luis sánchez saturno/the new Mexican

After a full moon made its final descent early Friday morning, and the sun started to brighten dawn’s periwinkle sky, people from all over Northern New Mexico parked cars in Nambé to begin an eight-mile journey to Chimayó. Many of those who walked went alone, praying quietly and reflecting on their blessings. GabrieLa caMpos/the new Mexican

‘it humbles you’

ictor Guzman, a Native American matachine dancer from Anthony, N.M., turned the final stretch to El Santuario de Chimayó on Good Friday wearing vibrant blue traditional dance regalia with white fringe that swayed with each step. He just found out about the pilgrimage to Chimayó this year, he said, and knew he wanted to participate. “The way things are right now … the world is drifting away from God bit by bit,” he said. “… God knows what we need.” His eight-mile trek from Nambé, he said, was a time for quiet reflection and prayer for peace within his family and the country. “It humbles you,” he said of the walk. “It makes you think of the long walk our father had on that Friday,” he said, referring to Jesus’ walk to the crucifixion. “The walk we’re doing is really nothing in comparison.” Olivia Harlow Victor Guzman, a Native American matachine dancer from Anthony, makes the pilgrimage Friday. GabrieLa caMpos/the new Mexican

El Santuario dE Chimayó

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journey

Blanca Terrazas walks with her 9-year-old son, Ever Lopez, to Chimayó.

two for the road

ith a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe strapped to her back, Blanca Terrazas walked hand in hand along a row of cottonwood trees on the outskirts of Chimayó with her 9-year-old son, Ever Lopez, who carried a Spider-Man bag.

Leroy Lente began his 112-mile bike ride from Albuquerque on Thursday. photos by Gabriela Campos/the New mexiCaN

Olivia Harlow

‘i just kept going’

round 4 a.m. Thursday, Leroy Lente began his 112-mile bike ride from Albuquerque to Chimayó, taking a different approach to the popular pilgrimage. “It was just off a whim,” he said. “I was just doing it for the challenge.” Unlike many Roman Catholics participating in the pilgrimage, Lente, 25, said he doesn’t consider himself very religious. Still, he was raised Catholic with a patron saint, Santo Niño, he said. Part of his decision to make the trek to the historic shrine

Juan Medina Road early Friday during the pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó. luis sáNChez saturNo/the New mexiCaN

Terrazas, originally from Chihuahua, Mexico, said in Spanish that she’s been making the Holy Week pilgrimage from Santa Fe to El Santuario de Chimayó for three consecutive years, each time with the mission of carrying Mother Mary.

was to honor his upbringing. Mostly, though, the journey was a way to push his limits. At mile 102, Lente said, the chain on his mountain bike popped off, and he was forced to walk with the bike for the last 10 miles or so from Tesuque. The inevitable aches and pains, paired with the unexpected obstacle of a broken bike, made the pilgrimage as emotionally exhausting as it was physically taxing. “I just kept going,” he said. “I work for it.” Olivia Harlow