El Santuario de Chimayo Pilgrimages

A pilgrimage is a journey of a person or persons to a shrine or holy place. It is usually to ask for a favor or to thank God for blessings in one's life.

For generations Native American Indians, the Hispanics of the Southwest, and other people of faith have traveled to the site of El Santuario de Chimayo to ask for healing for themselves or for others, and to offer prayers of petition or prayers of thanksgiving for favors received. In 1945, U. S. servicemen who had survived the "Bataan Death March" began a tradition of walking to El Santuario to thank Santo Niño de Atocha for delivering them from evil. The tradition of pilgrimages has grown stronger over the years and now many thousands of people begin or end pilgrimages at El Santuario. Below is a list of some organized pilgrimages. Click on the pilgrimage for more information:

The 100-Mile Pilgrimage for Vocations
The Mother’s Day Pilgrimage
Youth Pilgrimage Against Drugs
Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Pojoaque
Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis Assisi Pilgrimage
Santa Maria de la Paz

Photograph courtesy of Charles Sargent