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Apr. 12--CHIMAYo -- Andres Madrid, a man who has worked here nearly 30 years, sat atop a stone-andmud Station of the Cross he was building Tuesday, swinging his feet.
Madrid is building the 14 new Stations of the Cross at the Santuario de Chimayo near the edge of the Santa Cruz River, where the discovery of a buried crucifix led to construction of the shrine nearly two centuries ago. Madrid starting building the stone-and-mud pillars four months ago. The grounds of the shrine were busy with people observing for Holy Week and, as he looked around, Madrid said he wasn't going to be finished by Good Friday.
"Maybe I finish by next year's Holy Week," he said.
Holy Week is the week preceding Easter Sunday, and it commemorates Jesus' death on the cross. It is the busiest time of year at the small chapel, where hundreds make religious pilgrimages, often by walking long distances.
Madrid built the original Stations of the Cross at the santuario about 30 years ago. The new ones are among a number of improvements to the santuario that pilgrims will notice this Holy Week.
Each year, thousands of people travel to the santuario. The holy dirt at the shrine is believed to have healing powers, and many people have left behind evidence. Inside the santuario are crutches, casts and this inscription left by a blind man: "In all the places I have been this must be heaven."
Landscapers are busy improving the grounds, and there is a new statue of Jesus just inside the shrine.
The statue, carved by Northern New Mexico artist Jose Benjamin Lopez, is about 8 feet tall. It was donated by the Lopez family a few weeks ago. The figure has huge, ropebound hands and a sad face. It is so beautiful and imposing, said Rev. Casimiro Roca that the priest is slightly afraid of it.
Roca, who has been here since 1959, said he learned the history of the shrine from an old groundskeeper, who said a crucifix was carried to Chimayo by a pilgrim who came either from Guatemala or Mexico. Roca said the man grew ill and buried the cross he was carrying in the ground near the Santa Cruz River.
Catholics from New Mexico were camping out in the hills during Holy Week when they were awakened by a bright light coming from the riverbank. They began digging and found the cross.
The cross was carried to Santa Cruz, but the people from Chimayo who had found it wanted it back for their own place of worship. So they took the cross back to Chimayo, where the Santuario de Chimayo now sits, Roca said. Roca said about 5,000 people have already visited the shrine since last Sunday, Palm Sunday. He expects many more this week. "After tomorrow, there will be thousands of people coming here," he said. "The highways will be crowded with people moving, walking." Contact Natalie Storey at 986-3026 or nstorey@sfnewmexican.com.
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