Chimayo: Holy Week Pilgrims Head To New Mexico Shrine
By Russell Contreras, HuffingtonPost Latino Voices
And this year, pilgrims are coming to this adobe chapel in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains under historic circumstances – the “Lourdes of America” is now under the first pope from the Western Hemisphere.
Just two weeks after Pope Francis was elected, around 50,000 are expected to visit the popular northern New Mexico Catholic shrine, and officials say even more may come because of Argentine-born pontiff.
“We believe the new pope might contribute to even more people visiting,” said Joanne Dupont Sandoval, secretary at the Chimayo parish. “We’re already seeing people make trip in the early part of the week.”
The former Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, who had spent nearly his entire career at home in Argentina, was elected pope earlier his month. As the first Jesuit pope, he was been credited with focusing on helping the poor and teaching and leading priests in…
This article was first published in Huffington Post Latino Voices.
[Photo by Princess Stand in the Rain]