Santuario de Plateros

The Sanctuary of Plateros, in a village of the same name just outside Fresnillo, is one of the most visited Catholic shrines in Mexico. Pilgrims come from all over the country, and from Mexican communities in the United States, to pray to the Santo Niño de Atocha, a small image of the Christ Child dressed as a pilgrim. The biggest crowds arrive for his feast on December 25.

The church was built as a mining-town temple dedicated to the Señor de los Plateros, a rough-hewn wooden crucifix that appears to date from the 16th century, with a silver-plated cross from the 17th; it still presides over the main altar. The building, finished around 1790, is a late example of popular baroque, and some side altarpieces were later replaced with neoclassical ones. Devotion to the Santo Niño is documented here from 1829, and over time it eclipsed the older feast. In 2010 the sanctuary was included among the sites of the UNESCO-listed Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.

Beside the church, the Salón de Retablos, built in 1882 and 1883, is the most moving part of a visit: its walls are covered in ex-votos, small paintings and letters left by the faithful to give thanks for healings, safe journeys and other favors.