Greetings,
In January I visited your church during a vacation to New Mexico. When I entered the church, mid-day Mass was being said. In respect, my partner and I stood quietly in the back and enjoyed the feeling of community as the Mass continued.
After Mass we visited the side shrine and marveled at the devotions, statues, crutches and other items left by those cured by their visit, and by those still seeking help. Upon visiting the pozito, we washed our hands with the soil.
Without explanation, upon entering the shrine, I was overwhelmed with emotion and the sense of the others who had also visited this space. I have toured the Vatican in Rome, the Knock Shrine in County Mayo, the National Cathedral of St. Patrick in Dublin, grottos to Saints in Ireland and Mexico and various large and small Catholic churches across the USA, but none of these spaces gave me feeling that I felt when visiting el Santuario de Chimayo.
Michael O’Hara
Charlotte, NC
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