>>>> The Mission of Miracles <<<<

It is more than a place of comfort!  It is more than a place of prayer!

For hundreds of years it has been honoured as one of the holiest places in all of North America.  El Santuario De Chimayo - Chimayo, New Mexico, is a place I personally like to refer to as ‘The Mission of Miracles.’  Each  Easter, thousands of pilgrims travel, walk and some have even hobbled and crawled to Chimayo to seek holy healings at this time.

Dear readers, for well over a year now, I have considered the idea of sharing this story of my experience at Chimayo with you - so here it is.

Upon entering the grounds it hit me that this is no ordinary place.
Seven tall, wide and strong stone arches stand in a row to welcome you.  The grounds are as beautiful as the humble mission chapel and both definitely beckon one nearer.  

Rows of outdoor benches are available to sit on in quiet contemplation before entering the wide wooden gates to the atria.  For anyone as green as myself, the atria in itself is a place to be respected as Sacred.  It is a two-for-one area if you will.  It is partly a flower garden and partly a small cemetery.  The atria is the passage or pre-entrance to the Chimayo shrine.

History states a strong link between the miraculous crucifix in Guatemala at the Shrine of Esquipulas and the crucifix legends of El Santuario De Chimayo.  

As you can well image, there are a couple of legends and numerous variations of these legends to explain the founding of the Chimayo Chapel.  

One version implies a stray mule with no master traveled here with the crucifix carried on its back.  The other version, the one I choose to believe - goes like this.  

Back during the 1800's while Don Bernardo Abeita was traveling, something shining off in the distance caught his eye.  After digging up the object ( a crucifix) and claiming it for his own - it just as strangely disappeared.  Later, it was found to have turned up in its original place of discovery.  After experiencing this same phenomena repeatedly, Don Bernardo Abeita sought out church officials to erect a chapel and honour this as, a most Sacred of places.

Word spread even wider after a statue of Santo Nino de Atocha made a home in El Santuario.  It too possesses its own healing powers.  

The art inside this shrine is incredible.  Depicted here are Saint Francis, Saint Anthony and Saint Jerome archangels and much more.  

It was a wonderful privilege to sit in one of the pews of the Chimayo Chapel with my husband and ask our own personal prayers.  I would like to add, our prayers were answered shortly after our visit - Amen to that!  

A special spiritual feeling seems to wrap itself around you.  The chapel itself is not as big as one might expect.  It is not a grand cathedral, but it is most certainly grand in its own way.  

Once inside the shrine there is a row of pews on either side of the main aisle. At the front of the chapel to the left and then an immediate right is a very low doorway to a very special room which houses El Posito (the hole in the floor) where the healing earth is located.  Some of the visitors rub the sand between their hands, unto their skin, or even sometimes a tiny amount is actually ingested.This area is scarcely big enough to hold more than a few people at one time.

I will never forget the impression left upon me as I closely observed the lady ahead of us.  She was in the tiny chapel area while I was waiting behind her to go in and take my turn.  There she was, bent over the ‘El Posito’ filling a small clear baggy with the sand.  It was not for her own use, but to take to a loved one who was not able to make the journey for themselves.  It was an innocent  moment of complete selflessness.  I was exhilarated to witness this lady carefully studying her bag of  hope as she unawarely brushed passed me.  

When exiting this portion of the chapel, there is another narrow room which displays offerings and proof of faith left by previous visitors.  Crutches, handwritten notes and even a pair of baby shoes. I wondered about the story behind these little mysterious shoes.  Much later, I learned of one possible senario.  To some, the shoes signify the belief that the Holy Infant  wears out his shoes at night as he walks around carrying out good deeds for mankind.