One of the most popular pilgrimage sites in North America is El Sanctuario de Chimayó in New Mexico. It’s a small, unassuming adobe church nestled in the mountains north of Santa Fe.

We drove to Chimayó on a hot day and took turns visiting the church and the Stations of the Cross, since we had Dulcinea with us and couldn’t leave her alone in the heat.

The Sanctuario is famed for its soil, which is said to have healing properties: in fact, so much holy dirt is collected at the site by visitors yearlong and by the 300,000 pilgrims who visit during Holy Week, the diocese has to bring in 25 tons of additional dirt per year to be blessed.

Recently, the diocese added a new shrine dedicated to Our Lady of La Vang, shown below. My sister-in-law tells me that Vietnamese Catholics honor the Lady of La Vang because she appeared and offered aid when Catholics were being persecuted in Vietnam. It’s an ideal addition to the Sanctuario, modern in design but not out-of-place.

Chimayó is a small village, but somehow we missed the town’s two famous weaving studios, which we’ll have to visit when we return. But the Sanctuario is a serene and special place–you can feel it all around you.

After our visit, we enjoyed some prickly pear lemonade on a patio at the nearby Rancho de Chimayó, and then Dulcie got to cool off in a stream. I think we’ll come back when the trees turn gold.