Throngs journey to El Santuario de Chimayó in annual pilgrimage

Mar. 29—CHIMAYÓ — Ron Gallegos doesn't leave home without the St. Michael medallions his former students in Española gave him 21 years ago when he was called to active service in Iraq.

They were in his pocket Friday morning when he made his annual pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó, which he's done every year since the 1970s, except for the times he's been deployed in the military.

A veteran who spent eight years in the U.S. Marines and 20 in the U.S. Army Reserve, with deployments in Iraq and Operation Desert Storm, Gallegos said he makes the pilgrimage in honor of his fellow soldiers.

"I've lost more men and women off of combat than I did in combat," he said. "I pray for their souls here."

Gallegos goes to church every Sunday, but said there's something special about the walk to the santuario.

"It's spiritually healing," he said.

That feeling brought hundreds of pilgrims to the santuario Friday morning as the sun rose over the Sangre de Cristos. Thousands more followed throughout the day, looking for a moment of peace, of healing, and possibly, renewal.

The reasons for making the trip were as different as the people who traveled to the village on a sun-swept Good Friday. One man, who declined to give his name because his pilgrimage was about "becoming more humble," came from Taos. He said he had been walking since Palm Sunday and camping along the road.

He sat in the santuario courtyard Friday morning with a backpacking bag and a cardboard sign that read: "Need a ride to Taos."

Marilyn and Ray Nolasco visited the shrine with their family bearing a wooden cross from St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church in Albuquerque.

The couple grew up as Catholics in the Philippines and moved to the United States in 2004. They've been making the pilgrimage for the last 10 years after moving to New Mexico.

The trip is special "because it's for Jesus," Marilyn said.

Across the street from the santuario, parishioners from Holy Family parish in Chimayó were selling T-shirts and hoodies to raise money for a new roof for their church. The group had been out since Wednesday but hoped to make the most sales Friday due to the crowds, parishioner Geri Lujan said.

Many of the church's members do the pilgrimage on a different day because they serve as volunteers on Good Friday at the shrine, where they monitor doors, pick up trash and control the crowds.

It takes a village, they said, to make the pilgrimage come to life.

"Our whole community comes together and supports this day," Lujan said.

Volunteers said they had no way to estimate how many people made the pilgrimage on Friday, but believed it was more than had come to the Santuario in the years post-COVID.

"It's getting back to normal," said volunteer Janice Sanchez.

Jan Wallner and daughter Klara Castillo agreed.

"After COVID it was slow the first year, and now it's back," Castillo said.

The duo, who live in Albuquerque and walked 11 miles, have been making the pilgrimage for 27 years. Each year they bring candles and dedicate the journey to a specific person. Castillo's walk this year was for an uncle who had a difficult year. Wallner targeted her intention to a friend whose father recently died.

"And for my daughter," she said.

Jose Villegas, who lives in the La Cieneguilla Land Grant, made the pilgrimage carrying a large Thin Blue Line flag and a shirt with the names of Glen Huber and Jerry Martinez, police officers killed in a 1991 shooting in Chimayó that left six dead.

Villegas, a retired police chaplain, said he makes the pilgrimage every year in honor of law enforcement officers. His walk took on special significance this year following the death of New Mexico State Police Officer Justin Hare, who was shot and killed March 15 near Tucumcari.

"We just buried a police officer," said Villegas. "That's why I'm doing what I'm doing."

Some walked for those who can't.

Five siblings from Roswell wearing custom shirts with a picture of an alien and the words "We have never been alone," were making the pilgrimage, some for the first time and others for the fourth or fifth year.

One of the sisters, Elizabeth Rodriguez, lost her husband in 2019. Her walk fulfilled his dream.

"He always wanted, to but as the time went along he got sicker and sicker and then he was unable to walk," she said.

Others walked for healing.

Another woman, also named Elizabeth Rodriguez, and her wife Rochelle Apodaca-Rodriguez, started walking from Nambé at 5:30 a.m. and reached the santuario as the sun was coming up. The couple live in California but Apodaca-Rodriguez grew up in New Mexico. She said she wanted to come back to give thanks "for all the Lord has provided us."

Rodriguez has battled health issues over the past several years, and said she made a promise to do the walk. She still deals with health ailments on a daily basis, but said "walking through my pain" gave her a sense of accomplishment.

Many of the pilgrims said this was the latest of many annual trips. Others said this was their inaugural journey — one they're now determined to repeat.

"I hope I get the opportunity every year to come and just give thanks," said Edward De Baca.

De Baca recently moved back to Santa Fe from Las Cruces. Despite living in New Mexico for most of his life, this was his first pilgrimage walk.

His wife dropped him off at Nambé on Friday morning and he spent 2 1/2 hours walking to the santuario. He arrived just as a penitente brotherhood led a rosary in the outdoor chapel following their procession from the Holy Family church to the santuario.

"I couldn't have timed it better," said De Baca, who said the experience was "more than I could have hoped for."

Chris Moya also made the walk for the first time, starting from the Cities of Gold casino about 10 miles away. He traveled with his two sons, 13-year-old Clinton and 16-year-old Chris Jr. The family started at 6 a.m., carrying a wooden cross they made even earlier that morning.

Written at the top of the cross were the names of people the Moyas were praying for, including family members and loved ones who have died. Despite the cross's weight, the trip was light.

"It was peaceful," said the elder Moya, who said he enjoyed the sense of community along the way. "It was a good journey."

The interest in the pilgrimage wasn't limited to New Mexicans or those with ties to the state. Kristi Nord was on vacation with her husband and four children from Jasper, Ind., where they attend a Catholic church also called Holy Family. The family heard about the journey to Chimayó and decided to experience it for themselves, walking from a gas station in Santa Cruz.

Nord said she found the experience moving — grateful she was able to share it with her kids.

"We're all Christians coming together as the body of Christ in this one place, and I just think that's beautiful," Nord said. "Everyone has a little different spiritual journey that they're on today but it all relates back to Christ and what He did for us."