CHIMAYO, N.M. (AP) — An annual pilgrimage is underway that attracts thousands of Catholics to an adobe church in the hills of northern New Mexico.
Throngs of participants set out Friday for El Santuario de Chimayo in an annual act of prayer, reflection and sacrifice.
The Easter-week tradition dates back more than two centuries. Many participants walk more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) along highways from Santa Fe or as far as Albuquerque.
At the shrine, the faithful file through an adjacent room that holds a small pit of dirt that some say has curative powers. Visitors often arrive with small container to take away pinches of dirt, and have left behind crutches as testimony that they've been helped.
The small, Spanish colonial-style church at Chimayo is listed as a National Historic Landmark.