Washington Post Article On El Santuario de Chimayo

Interesting article:

With its thick adobe walls, two bell towers and six-foot crucifix, the church is considered a prime example of Spanish Colonial architecture. But it’s probably best known for the supposedly curative powers of the “holy dirt” that’s found in its sacristy.

Each year, more than 300,000 Native Americans, Hispanics and people of other cultures visit the church. Some come in faith, some out of curiosity, but most come hoping to find miracle cures for their physical or emotional pains, illnesses or disabilities. It has been reported that during Holy Week, pilgrims walk the 30 miles from Santa Fe to the sanctuary; some even walk from as far as Albuquerque, about 90 miles away.

The church has been compared to Lourdes, and the National Park Service has called it “one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage centers in the United States.” In 1970, it became a National Historic Landmark.

...A door at the left of the nave opens to a small prayer room, with an amazing number of discarded crutches lining the walls. Above them, the walls are covered with photos and letters from people testifying to the healing power of the holy dirt, which is found in an even smaller adjoining room. The size of a walk-in closet, this room houses a tiny well, called el pocito, dug into the ground and holding the fine soil.

I stepped inside to get a glimpse of el pocito. I hadn’t come to get some dirt, but on an impulse, I decided to take some with me in case my achy knee worsened during the last days of our visit to New Mexico. But I worried that if I knelt down to reach the well, I’d have trouble getting back up.

...Back at home, I did some research on the holy dirt to learn more about its properties. The first thing I learned is that el pocito isn’t a bottomless pit. It has to be refilled each day by church workers who collect the dirt from the nearby hillsides in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Visitors haul away an estimated 25 to 30 tons each year.

...My knee, knock wood, hasn’t given me any trouble since my visit.