PILGRIMAGE TO THE BLACK CHRIST ( El Cristo Negro) OF ESQUIPULAS

On April 16-18,2010, we (Betty Conley –Home Visit RN) and I were blessed to have an opportunity to go with some Parishioners of Peter Claver (our parish church in PG) for a PILGRIMAGE to the Black Christ of Esquipulas. The pilgrimage of the Black Christ is compared to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, a bit smaller scale.

Esquipulas is a small valley, about 20,000 population. The shrine of El Cristo Negro is revered for it’s miraculous healing powers. Most famous in 1737, it cured the Bishop of Guatemala, Bishop Pardo de Figueroa of his ailments. Now, more than one million pilgrims visit El Cristo Negro de Esquipulas each year.

From Belize, we took a boat to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala (about 1 ½-2 hours ) then took a bus to Esquipulas (about 4-5 hours) from Puerto Barrios. We were blessed with calm sea and good weather.

What an amazing experience! I was so amazed to see families praying together, walking on their knees, lining up to see El Cristo Negro in the hot sun, doing their stations of the cross in the hill in the hot sun. I wished so bad that Niki and Dan was there to experience these with me. I have met people in our parish and got to know them well during our short pilgrimage. I was able to get away from busy-ness and was able to take time to pray and meditate in this beautiful valley and shrine. I wished you all could have been with me (physically),but rest assured that you were all in my prayers….

The Dry Season in Belize

In general, Belize has 2 seasons, the wet season extending from June until February, and the dry season extending February to June. We are now at the end of the dry season. Since the first of February we have had only about 2 inches of rain, usually in a sprinkle here and there and pretty spotty at that. The rivers are only a trickle, there are large cracks in the ground, and although still green, the vegetation appears wilted. This is also when farmers do “slash and burn” so the air is full of smoke. Temperatures are around 100 at mid-day almost daily. In the Toledo district, we receive about 150 inches of rain/year. If you divide that by 7 rainy months, that means we will soon be getting nearly one inch of rain per day! We could use a cool, rainy day about now!!

Blue Creek in the dry season.

Blue Creek in the Rainy season.

Dry season soil cracking.
Slash & Burn