Chimayo, New Mexico: El Santuario de Chimayo Shrine

I truly believe in the miracle of this Holy place. In the Spring of 2000, my husband, two children, and I traveled there on our way to Colorado from Dallas, Texas. I was pregnant and having many complications already (I had already recently lost two children from miscarriages), and when we arrived at the Santuario, I felt an overwhelming peace and the presence of God and I couldn't stop sobbing. I begged Jesus to please let me keep this baby growing in my tummy, and I promised Him I would come back w/ her in my arms to this holy place. And also promised St. Francis to name her after him! Once we left there, and headed to CO, the bleeding stopped and now 8 yrs later, I have a beautiful daughter, Madeleine Grace Francis, and we have already visited there once w/ all 3 kids, and Madeleine in my arms as I promised our Lord I would (as I call her, my "Chimayito miracle") but its been several years, and now, this time next week, God willing, we will be traveling to Chimayo again, but this time, we will walk in there, my Chimayito Miracle, and I, hand in hand and she will be able to pray and tell God what her heart desires and thank Him for the miracle that she is!

El Santuario de Chimayo has been known to carry on many miracles. Having visited several times from California, I spoke to the priest on Christmas Day 2005 and introduced our dilemma. I explained to him that we were having fertility issues and if we have no luck by February, we were set to see a fertility specialist. His response was simply "There must be a reason why... think about it."

At the time, I did not know how to interpret this statement, but quickly came to discover the powers of El Santuario. Upon going to the fertility doctor, my wife (28 years of age) learned through fertility blood tests that she had thyroid cancer! She had no symptoms and her primary care physician never saw a problem with the thyroid. I immediately remembered what was told to me by the priest. I called him that night and explained the situation.

Being told this information on Christmas Day, it helped me to come to terms and acceptance of the situation. Surgery occurred shortly after and she has been doing well since. We continue to frequent El Santuario on an annual basis and try to do a Good Friday Pilgrimage.

Believe in the sand or not? It is a peaceful and moving place for all!

Since I live in Espanola, we frequent the Santuario all the time. It helps to bring peace to mine and my daughter's lives. But it was September 11, 2001, that stands out in my mind most of all. After hearing about the terrorists attacks on our country we went to the Santuario to pray for the people that died, injured, or suffered the loss of love ones in the attacks. It was the only solice at the time of unsurety. Turns out that many others that I had gone to high school with thought the same thing. It is a place for miracles and for prayers to be answered. That is why we continue to go there regularly. I recently took my daughter there before her confirmation; it helped us to open our hearts to the beautiful mass we enjoyed later that evening.

Having a Catholic boyfriend, this was a must see. It's a little difficult to find if you don't speak Spanish. My advice, drive slow and don't be afraid to stop and ask at the local businesses. If you plan on shopping while you're asking directions, bring a good chunk of change. There are lots of woven items ... all beautiful but very pricey. The jewelry is beautiful as well and about what you would expect to pay for silver and turquoise anywhere in the southwest.

The chapel itself is very small and pretty. This is a peaceful spot. Before you get to the chapel itself, there are the Stations of the Cross. Again ... very peaceful.

After looking around the sanctuary, we headed to the "miracle dirt". Whether you believe in the healing powers or not, it's still very neat. There where lots of people there who obviously came for the healing powers of the dirt. Some people were grabby and filling up jar after jar.

Some were just there to touch it. The atmosphere is reverent. I got a little teary-eyed. We went to the gift shop and found a few items. They were reasonably priced. It's worth the trip, especially if you're Catholic (I'm not but I still enjoyed it :)