Santa Fe authorities are keeping a watchful eye on the annual Good Friday pilgrimage between Santa Fe and the Santuario de Chimayó, patrolling the designated route from now through Easter Sunday and providing glow sticks and water to the walkers, The New Mexican reported.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano said deputies will hand out glow sticks and urged pilgrims to wear reflective clothing, stay out of traffic and cross only at designated spots along the route that has been marked out by the state Department of Transportation (see inset map), the paper reported.

"Over the years, we have had individuals struck while doing the pilgrimage," said Solano, who told The New Mexican that most of those incidents occurred while people were crossing the highway.

Solano also said a number of those incidents involved drunken drivers, so the sheriff's department is setting up DWI checkpoints along the pilgrimage route and will mount a saturation patrol on Friday, the paper said.

The sheriff's department and Santa Fe County Fire Department is alos providing stations where walkers can ask for help and get drinking water, The New Mexican said.

"We're not new at this game," Assistant Fire Chief John Wheeler told the paper. "We now have a really coordinated response."

Wheeler said there will be medical service provided along the route, as well as at the Santuario itself.

Pilgrims have been journeying to the Santuario de Chimayó  for centuries to pray for healing on Good Friday, according to an Associated Press report.

Your Name:

Your Email Address:

Rate this article:
Poor Great

Comment:

BOLD

"QUOTE"

UNDERLINE