Santuario de Chimayo -- Chimayo, N.M.

 Destination: If you haven’t heard of the “holy dirt” of New Mexico, the place to find it is Santuario de Chimayo or the Shrine of Chimayo.

Masses are being offered Sundays at 10:30 a.m. inside and at 12 noon in an outdoor Mass area. Daily Masses are not being offered. Check with the web site before you go to be sure things haven’t changed.

Photo: The chapel at Chimayo, N.M., is called the “Lourdes of America” for its holy dirt. (Observer screengrab/Sharon Boehlefeld)

The chapel at Chimayo, N.M., is called the “Lourdes of America” for its holy dirt.

Why to go: There are two significant chapels at Santuario de Chimayo, according to its website. The first, the Lord of Esquipulas Chapel, is also the site of el pocito, the small pit of holy dirt. Near the main chapel paintings of saints, holy cards, letters of thanks and crutches are mounted to walls as evidence of cures attributed to the holy dirt. A strange buried cross was discovered on the site on Good Friday in 1810. (For more about the site’s history, visit https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/646/article/holy-dirt.)

Photo: Photos surround a crucifix inside the historic El Santuario de Chimayo Church is pictured in Chimayo, N.M., July 29, 2020. Known as the "Lourdes of America," hundreds of thousands of people visit the adobe chapel built between 1813 and 1816 where, some believe, the dirt inside has healing powers. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

A second chapel is the Santo Niño de Atocha Chapel. Built in 1857, it is the destination of what is a strong and growing Easter pilgrimage tradition which now spans several generations. U.S. soldiers and sailors who prayed to the Santo Niño during the Bataan Death March started the pilgrimage when they returned to the United States after WWII to give thanks for surviving the march.

Hours: The shrine is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but with limited availability. The Santuario gift shop is open but the Santo Niño gift shop and welcome center are not. Masks  and social distancing are required. The restrooms are also closed.

Accessibility: Much of the grounds appear to be accessible to the handicapped.

(Grand) Kid friendly: All ages are welcome.

Info: Address — Santuario de Chimayo, 15 Santuario Dr., Chimayo, NM 87522 
Phone —  505-351-9961 or 505-351-4360
Website — https://www.holychimayo.us/ 

— Sharon Boehlefeld compiled this story

Send Destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi - Santa Fe, N.M.

(Observer photos/ sacredheartcocathedral.com)

Destination: Founded as a parish in 1610, the same year the city of Santa Fe was founded, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi  sits on the site of the original 17th century parish. The current church was established as a cathedral in1853 and elevated to basilica  in 2005.
Mass times are Sunday, 8 a.m. (Spanish), 10 a.m. and 12 noon; Monday- Saturday, 7 a.m. and 5:15 p.m.
Why to go: One reason to plan a stop is to see the oldest statue of the Virgin Mary in the U.S., brought from Spain in 1685. Today the image rests in an adobe chapel dedicated to Our Lady La Conquistadora. The chapel is all that remains of a 1714 church, bullt after the Pueblo Indian Revolt of 1680.
The Franciscans who established the parish arrived in the area that would become Santa Fe in 1598. They accompanied Spanish settlers who had come north from Mexico City.
When Bishop John B. Lamy deemed the adobe church inadequate to growing needs, he brought French architects and Italian stonemasons to Santa Fe to build a Romanesque church in 1887.
The new cathedral was built around the adobe church. When the new walls were complete, the old church was torn down and removed through the front door.
The stained glass windows in the lower bay are from France and depict the Twelve Apostles.
Dedicated in 1887, the Cathedral’s spires were never completed due to lack of funds.
(Grand) Kid friendly: The cathedral welcomes children. If you want to prepare them for the visit, check the virtual tour at https://www.cbsfa.org/89.
Info: Address — Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, 131 Cathedral Place, Santa Fe, NM, 87501
Phone — 505/982-5619 
Website —https://www.cbsfa.org/
—  Sharon Boehlefeld compiled this story.
Send Destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org

St. Joseph Apache Mission - Mescalero, New Mexico

(Photos/www.stjosephmission.org)

Destination: St. Joseph Apache Mission Church is a historic church in Mescalero, N.M., that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
Masses are celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Sunday and “usually celebrated Tuesdays through Fridays at 12 noon in the side chapel,” according to the website.
Why to go: When Father Albert Braun, OFM, came to Mescalero, N.M., as a young friar in 1916, he saw a need to replace the old adobe church that served its Apache parishioners. But his work was delayed when he went to Europe as a chaplain during World War I. When he returned to New Mexico, in 1920, with only $100 of Army pay in his pocket, he began working to build a neo-Gothic stone church. With help from volunteers — ranging from an architect to his fellow friars — the church was completed using local stones and timber. It is undergoing renovation, a project that began in 1999 and continues today.
The mission is owned by the Diocese of Las Cruces and operated by Franciscan Friars of the Province of St. Barbara.
Accessibility: Parking is near the front door. The church is open daily and visitors are welcome.
(Grand) Kid friendly: Children are always welcome.
Info:  Address: St. Joseph Apache Mission, 626 Mission Trail, P.O. Box 187, Mescalero, NM 88340. Phone: 575/464-4473. Web: www.stjosephmission.org and https://sbfranciscans.org/ministry/st-joseph-apache-mission

- Compiled by Sharon Boehlefeld
Send your Catholic destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi - Santa Fe, New Mexico

(Photo provided)

Destination: If you’re about to “motor west,” plan a stop at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, which is celebrating is 400th anniversary in 2010. You’ll be among visitors as distinguised as Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Spain, who attended a ceremony at the basilica last October to mark the start of celebrations for the 400th anniversary of the founding of Santa Fe.
Masses are Sunday — 8 a.m. (Spanish), 10 a.m., noon and 5:15 pm; Monday-Saturday — 7 a.m. and 5:15 p.m.
Why to go: The first church on the site of the present-day basilica was built by Franciscan Friars in 1610. The original adobe church has been replaced several times. Construction on today’s building began in 1869 and continued until 1887. The new church was built around the old church. When the new walls were finished, the old church was torn down and removed through the front door.
A Blessed Sacrament Chapel was built in 1967, and in 1987, an altar screen showing famous saints from North and South America was added. In 2009, the church installed a new cross and tower bells.
Stained glass windows in the lower bay are from France and show the 12 Apostles.
One of the oldest features of the basilica is a statue of Mary under the title of “La Conquistadora.” The statue was brought from Spain in 1625 by Spanish conquistadors and Franciscans to help introduce the Catholic faith.
Special events: The parish is sponsoring a Valentine weekend art exhibit and sale Feb. 12-14. Parish artists will offer mixed media, oil, acrylic, watercolor, egg tempera, natural pigments, encaustic wax, wood, metal, fiber and leather, sculpture, clay, photography, glass, jewelry, furniture, drawings and hand-finished prints. Thirty percent of all sales will help reduce the school debt.
The parish’s senior group — Treasures of Wisdom — is sponsoring a series of full-length movies featuring a priest to celebrate the Year for Priests. Movies will be shown at 1 p.m. Feb. 11, 18 and 25.
Amenities: La Conquistadora Gift Shop is located at the front entrance of the Cathedral Basilica and is open Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., and Sunday from 1-4:30 p.m.
Access: Stairs at the street lead up to the church’s front plaza.
(Grand) Kid friendly: As with any church, children are welcome.
Info: Address: 131 Cathedral Place, P.O. Box 2127, Santa Fe, NM 87504-2127 Phone: 505/982-5619 Web: www.cbsfa.org

- Compiled by Sharon Boehlefeld
Send your Catholic destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org

St. Bernadette Shrine - Albuquerque, New Mexico

(Photo: www.shrineofstbernadette.com)

Destination: The St. Bernadette Shrine in Albuquerque, N.M., is an ideal place to stop for a few minutes of relaxation and prayer for anyone on a road trip through the southwest. Housed at St. Bernadette Parish, it was elevated to a diocesan shrine by Archbishop Michael Sheehan of Santa Fe, N.M., on Oct. 7, 2003.
Masses at the parish are 4:30 p.m. Saturday; 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m. (bilingual), 10:45 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Sunday; 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday; 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., First Friday.
Why to go: The replica of St. Bernadette is a visible sign of the special relationship this New Mexico parish has developed with the Marian shrine at Lourdes, France. It was there that Mary appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous, then a 14-year-old girl, in 1858.
There are several relics of the saint at the shrine, including locks of her hair and an article of clothing.
It is one of only three churches in the United States officially allowed to dispense water from Lourdes.
Pilgrims visiting the shrine may be granted a plenary indulgence for the remission of the temporal punishment due to sins.
Outdoor Stations of the Cross at the church are also unique. Originally commissioned for St. Matthias Church in Chicago, according to the shrine’s Web site, “they had been stored in a basement and forgotten. Dan Paulos, the shrine’s director, was doing research for a book about the late American artist Virginia Broderick, when he learned of the stations. They were painted on aluminum as one, 36-foot piece in 1973. The pastor in Chicago offered to sell the art to the Albuquerque parish.”
Access: The one-story church is easily accessible.
(Grand) Kid friendly: As with any parish, children are welcome. The outdoor Stations provide a great opportunity to stroll and pray if you “motor west.”
Info: Address: St. Bernadette Shrine, 1800 Martha St., NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87112.  Phone: 505/298-7557. Web: www.shrineofstbernadette.com

- Compiled by Sharon Boehlefeld
Send your Catholic destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org