Santa Fe (US), Apr 18 (AP) A unique Holy Week tradition is drawing thousands of Catholic pilgrims to a small adobe church in the hills of northern New Mexico, in a journey on foot through desert badlands to reach a spiritual wellspring.

For generations, people of the Upper Rio Grande Valley and beyond have walked to reach El Santuario de Chimayo to commemorate Good Friday.

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Pilgrims, some walking for days, were on track to arrive Friday amid a forecast of cool temperatures and sprinkles of rain.

Some travellers are lured by an indoor well of dirt believed to have curative powers. Throughout the year, they leave behind crutches, braces and canes in acts of prayer for infirm children and others, and as evidence that miracles happen.

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Easter week visitors file through an adobe archway and narrow indoor passages to find a crucified Nuestro Senor de Esquipulas at the main altar.

According to local lore, the crucifix was found on the site in the early 1800s, a continent away from its analog at a basilica in the Guatemalan town of Esquipulas.

A spiritual place

Chimayo, known for its artisan weavings and chile crops, rests high above the Rio Grande Valley and opposite the national defence laboratory at Los Alamos that sprang up in the race to develop the first atomic weapon.

The iconic adobe church at Chimayo was cast from local mud at the sunset of Spanish rule in the Americas in the early 1800s, on a site already held sacred by Native Americans.

Set amid narrow streets, curio shops and brooks that flow quickly in spring, El Santuario de Chimayo has been designated as a National Historic Landmark that includes examples of 19th century Hispanic folk art, religious frescoes and saints carved from wood known as bultos.

One votive room is filled with notes of thanks from those who say they had ailments cured.

A separate chapel is dedicated to the Santo Nino de Atocha, a patron saint of children, travellers and those seeking liberation and a fitting figure of devotion for Chimayo pilgrims on the go.

Hundreds of children's shoes have been left in a prayer room there by the faithful in tribute to the holy child who wears out footwear on miraculous errands. There are even tiny boots tacked to the ceiling.

Pueblo people who inhabited the Chimayo area long before Spanish settlers believed healing spirits could be found in the form of hot springs. Those springs ultimately dried up, leaving behind earth attributed with healing powers.

A journey on foot

Pilgrims from nearby towns set out for Chimayo in the predawn hours. Some have walked 32 kilometres from Santa Fe, while others travelled for days from Albuquerque and elsewhere.

Vendors sell religious trinkets, coffee and treats. State transportation workers, law enforcement agencies and other volunteers are stationed along the roadway to ensure safety from oncoming traffic, the outdoor elements and exhaustion.

Pilgrims traverse an arid landscape speckled with juniper and pinon trees and cholla cactus that finally give way to lush cottonwood trees and green pastures on the final descent into Chimayo.

The magnitude of the religious pilgrimage has few if any rivals in the US. Many participants say their thoughts dwell not only on Jesus Christ but on the suffering of family, friends and neighbours with prayers for relief. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)