PILGRIMAGES ARRIVAL AT THE SANTUARIO DE CHIMAYO

On this Saturday morning the four Pilgrimages for Vocations converge at the Santuario de Chimayó. After walking a hundred miles the pilgrims arrive in a state of elated, adrenalized, joyous exhaustion. Families and friends await their arrival. The pilgrims approach in single file singing “Vienen con alegría” (“They Come with Joy”), pass through the arch, enter the atrium, kneel before an image of the Virgin, and then continue into the church, where the archbishop places a cross around their necks.

Inside the church the collective mood of devotion and elation builds and then culminates in song to a deeply moving sense of euphoria. One pilgrim described it this way: “The presence of all those voices just makes your body hum. Being that fatigued puts you in a different place, much more in tune with everything, you’re kind of out of your body at that point. But the music, and then being in that tight space too, it just resonates in there. There’s a sense of accomplishment, there’s a sense of purpose, there’s a sense of camaraderie, there’s just this overwhelming feeling of love.”

Exclusive access to this experience, which is otherwise limited to pilgrims, is available to six people on the PROFUNDO mailing list. Proceeds from ticket revenue benefit Pilgrimages for Vocations.  Our time inside the church with the pilgrims is brief, about a half hour, but the experience outside is also elating. Everyone is welcome to attend the outdoor mass that begins at 10:15. A video on Pilgrimages for Vocations is here.