El Santuario De Chimayo Editorial Photo

The Potrero plaza of Chimayó is known internationally for a Catholic chapel, the Santuario de Nuestro Señor de Esquipulas, commonly known as El Santuario de Chimayó. A private individual built it by 1816 so that local people could worship Jesus as depicted at Esquipulas; preservationists bought it and handed it over to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in 1929. For its reputation as a healing site (believers claim that dirt from a back room of the church can heal physical and spiritual ills), it has become known as the Lourdes of America, and attracts close to 300,000 visitors a year. It is the most important Catholic pilgrimage center in the United States and was designated a national historic landmark in 1970.