CHIMAYÓ, SANTUÁRIO DE

A chapel dedicated to Our Lord of Esquipulas (Chorti Indian, "springs of water"), Chimayo, N. Mex., built between 1813 and 1816. The devotion originated from Esquipulas, Guatemala, where a famed statue of the Crucifixion has attracted pilgrims from all of Central America since 1595. Pilgrims took home from the shrine cakes of earth, which were believed to have healing powers. The cult reached New Mexico c. 1805, when a small oratory was built near Chimayo on the site of ancient volcanic hot springs, visited by prehistoric peoples for therapeutic purposes. The oratory was then incorporated into the present Santuario, a splendid example of southwestern Spanish colonial architecture built of sun-dried brick and hand-carved timbers. Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop features this chapel and its santos (religious images), among which are the Holy Child of Atocha, patron of prisoners, and Santiago de Chimayó.

New Mexico's 200th Coast Artillery, captured by the Japanese on Bataan in 1942, made pilgrimage vows to the Holy Child of Atocha should they survive. On April 28, 1946, 500 persons accompanied the Bataan survivors, walking 30 miles across country to attend a Thanksgiving Mass at the Santuário. The Santuário attracts visitors from many states and countries. Its annual feast is celebrated on the last Sunday in July.

See Also: santo.

Bibliography: s. f. de borhegyi, The Miraculous Shrines of Our Lord of Esquipulas in Guatemala and Chimayo, New Mexico (Santa Fe, N. Mex. 1956). o. la farge, Santa Fé: The Autobiography of a Southwestern Town (Norman, Okla. 1959).

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