![]() īernardo Abeyta built a small chapel to the Christ of Esquipulas on the present site around 1810. ![]() A nephew of Don Bernardo was christened Juan de Esquipulas in 1805. Also, he was probably devoted to the Christ of Esquipulas, a pilgrimage site in Guatemala where the clay is ascribed healing power. The land where the Santuario now stands belonged to Don Bernardo Abeyta, one of the first members of Los Hermanos de la Fraternidad Piadosa de Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno (the Penitentes) in the area. In the early 19th century, 19 families lived in what was then called El Potrero de Chimayó ( potrero means pasture). An adjacent prayer room displays many ex-votos as well as photographs, discarded crutches, and other testimonials of those purportedly healed. A small room called el pocito (the little well) contains a round pit, the source of "holy dirt" ( tierra bendita) that is believed to have healing powers. Other notable folk-art decorations include five reredoses and a small sculpture of St. The nave contains a crucifix representing Christ of Esquipulas, 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. ![]() An unusual feature is two side-by-side rooms at the entrance forming a vestibule or narthex, once used for storage. The "elegant" doors were carved by the 19th-century carpenter Pedro Domínguez. ![]() Pointed caps on the towers and a metal pitched roof (blocking the clerestory) were added after 1917, probably in the 1920s. Built of adobe with a bell tower on each side, the church is 60 feet (18 m) long and 24 feet (7.3 m) wide with walls more than 3 feet (about 1 m) thick. It is entered through a walled courtyard. The Santuario is on Juan Medina Drive in Chimayó. ![]()
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