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Trail Dust New Mexico s biblical landscape might feed spirituality - The Santa Fe New Mexican Local NewsIn studying the religious history of New Mexico, one quickly notices instances in which members of the Holy Family or saints are reported to have put in a personal appearance, usually to assist the faithful.
Such sightings or encounters fit in with Fray Angelico’s idea that New Mexico is a Holy Land, resembling Palestine. In faraway Palestine biblical figures once walked the earth, so by analogy they might be expected to tread New Mexico’s soil as well.
One of the oldest and most popular beliefs among Rio Grande folk is of the Passing of the Christ Child on Christmas Eve. Small bonfires are lit in front of houses, in imitation of the original shepherds’ fires, to guide the child on his way.
If the Christ Child fails to pass and bless a home, then sickness and trouble might befall it all the next year. As a rule the holy visitor remains unseen, but formerly there were always some elders who claimed in their youth to have glimpsed him.
A regular fixture in New Mexico was St. Joseph. He was said to wander the back country performing deeds of mercy. In fact, it was claimed that he wore out a pair of shoes each night in pursuit of his sacred errands.
One of those errands, according to some believers, involved help he gave to the Sisters of Loretto in 1878. In that year the devout Sisters saw completion of their beautiful chapel in downtown Santa Fe. Unhappily, the architect had failed to provide access to the high choir loft, so they prayed for divine assistance.
Suddenly, an old man with a beard appeared, carrying a tool chest on his burro and claiming to be a carpenter. He went to work and produced a spectacular spiral staircase, that had no center support or nails. Afterward, he disappeared without pay.
The “miraculous staircase” exists to this day and is seen by thousands of visitors yearly. And there are still some who will declare shyly that surely the mysterious carpenter must have been St. Joseph himself.
New Mexico and Arizona feed spirituality.