El Santuario de Chimayó, New Mexico Postcard

El Santuario de Chimayó is a Roman Catholic church in Chimayó, New Mexico. (Santuario is Spanish for "sanctuary".) This shrine, a National Historic Landmark, is famous for the story of its founding and as a contemporary pilgrimage site. It receives almost 300,000 visitors per year and has been called the most important Catholic pilgrimage centre in the United States. 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. Up to 30,000 pilgrims come during Holy Week, which is the week before Easter.