New Mexican Catholicism in Transition

Soon after the Santuario’s construction was completed in 1816, Spain was defeated in Mexico’s war for independence (1821). In 1847 the regime once again changed, with the arrival and takeover by the Americans during the Mexican-American War. This chapter shows how New Mexican Catholics, especially in and around Chimayó, adapted to the changes in both political and ecclesiastical oversight that occurred in these tumultuous decades. Other topics are the 1837 Chimayó Rebellion; the difficulties and conflicts that resulted from Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy’s tenure; and the challenge by Padre Antonio José Martínez and other local Hispano leaders to the new order imposed by Archbishop Lamy.

The Origin of the Santuario

This chapter collects and recounts several important origin stories for the Santuario de Chimayó and its healing dirt and argues that the various stories reveal the religious and political needs of the storytellers. Origin stories range from apparitions of miraculous crucifixes to mysterious priests to pre-Hispanic Tewa Pueblo mythology. Key figures in the Santuario’s origins are its original owner, Bernardo Abeyta, and the Señor de Esquipulas, the crucified image of Jesus that now hangs on the main altar.

Introduction

The reader is introduced to the Santuario de Chimayó and its famous healing dirt. The concept of “religious ownership” is introduced, and its application to the case of the Santuario is discussed. The physical and historical setting of the book is detailed, with sections on northern New Mexico and the general timeline of events at the Santuario.

Catholic Settlement of Río Arriba

This chapter tells the story of Spanish conquest and evangelization of the region known today as New Mexico. The focus is on the Franciscan order and its changing strategies to plant churches and make converts out of the native peoples. Popular Catholicism that grew up and around Pueblo and Spanish villages is also covered. The Pueblo Revolt is covered, along with the early history of New Mexico’s famous Penitentes.

The Holy Family and the Santuario Today

This chapter brings the history of the Santuario and debates over religious ownership into the present. In 1959 Father Casimiro Roca (of the Sons of the Holy Family) becomes the first full-time priest at the Santuario in its history, and under his leadership, the place grows from an important regional site of devotion to an international pilgrimage and tourism destination. His legacy continues at the Santuario as various groups, from the archdiocese to Chimayó’s local residents to tourists, articulate different visions for the Santuario’s future. The chapter also includes an analysis of devotees’ letters to the Santuario concerning their miraculous cures from the dirt.

Selling the Santuario

This chapter begins with a nineteenth-century attempt by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe to obtain the privately owned Santuario. It then turns to the 1929 sale, which was orchestrated by Anglo artists and intellectuals in the newly formed Spanish Colonial Arts Society. The ostensible goal of buying the church was to preserve it for the Hispano population as well as its priceless Hispanic folk art, but the Spanish Colonial Arts Society immediately turned the deed over to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, then under the leadership of Archbishop Daeger. The chapter provides an analysis of the racially charged decisions that were made concerning the ownership and fate of the Santuario. Key figures in the Spanish Colonial Arts Society who are discussed in the chapter include Mary Austin and John Gaw Meem.

Conclusion

The book concludes by revisiting the metaphor of religious ownership and how it has been brought to bear on the history of the Santuario; the chapter also provides suggestions as to how this metaphor could be fruitfully applied to other contexts. The conclusion then turns to why the Santuario’s history is so important. First, as Catholics continue to be the largest denomination in the United States, it is essential that we better understand this largest of all Catholic pilgrimage sites in the United States. Second, as Hispanics grow in importance as the nation’s largest minority group, it becomes more and more important that we understand their history and religious heritage. The history of the Santuario de Chimayó is an essential part of American religious history.

The Santo Niño de Atocha

This chapter chronicles the rise of the most important devotional figure at the Santuario de Chimayó, the Santo Niño de Atocha. Two arguments are offered as to why the Santo Niño gained prominence in Hispanic devotions: the first relies on religious competition with the Medina Chapel, adjacent to the Santuario, while the second rests on the idea that the Santo Niño’s popularity spread throughout the region independent of the Medina Chapel. The chapter also explains how the features of the Santo Niño’s devotion have made him a more winsome figure than the crucified Christ.

The Pilgrims and Pilgrimage

This chapter opens with an account of the 2015 Good Friday pilgrimage based on the author’s participant observation, and then moves to an account of the history of the walking pilgrimage as well as other smaller pilgrimages to the Santuario de Chimayó. The chapter concludes with a detailed analysis of several theories of pilgrimage and its relationship to religious tourism and how these theories relate to the pilgrimage and tourism at the Santuario. The Santuario provides a fascinating case of phenomena related to the commodification of religious sites.