Thousands of Pilgrims Come to Chimpay
56th Pilgrimage of Faith Dedicated to Bl. Ceferino
Namuncurá
(ANS – Chimpay, Argentina – September 2, 2026) – Thousands of pilgrims from various regions of Argentina traveled to Chimpay, the birthplace of Blessed Ceferino Namuncurá, to take part in the 56th Pilgrimage of Faith. This event once again highlighted the simple faith of the people, who gathered around the figure of the blessed young Mapuche to pray and give thanks, stroking his poncho as a gesture of devotion.
The pilgrimage, which took place August 28-30, was preceded
on Wednesday the 26th by the celebration of the liturgical memorial of
Ceferino, the day marking the 140th anniversary of his birth. The theme chosen
for this year’s event was: “With Ceferino and Pope Leo, artisans of humanization
and peace.”
The spring-like weather that prevailed thruout the days also
encouraged pilgrims to take part. Thruout the weekend, the chapel housing the
wooden image of the Blessed, draped in the ponchos left as offerings by the
faithful, was a constant place of prayer and gathering.
The cultural, recreational, and pastoral initiatives organized by the diocese of Viedma together with the Salesian parish of Our Lady of Lujan got into full swing on Saturday. Pilgrims arrived in Chimpay by bicycle, horseback, car, or foot, coming from numerous towns across Patagonia and from more distant provinces such as Cardoba, Mendoza, Santiago del Estero, Salta, and Buenos Aires.
Among the day’s events, 2 discussion sessions took place at the Polideportivo
Municipal. The 1st, led by Fr. Abel Iglesias, addressed the theme of human
consciousness and dignity in the face of the challenges posed by Artificial
Intelligence. The 2d, organized by the Hogar de Cristo in Viedma,
gave a voice to people affected by addiction and shared their experiences of
recovery.
In the afternoon, at the chapel, Msgr. Oscar Miñarro, apostolic
administrator of the diocese of Alto Valle, presided over the Eucharist. The
day continued with youth adoration at the Parque Ceferiniano Shrine
and with a fire ceremony on the riverbank, led by the Mapuche community.
At dawn on Sunday, August 30, the Mapuche community led
the rogativa on the “Cerro de la Cruz del Quinto Centenario.”
Following the blessing of the fire, thousands of people set off on the walk
to Parque Ceferiniano: a journey of almost 2 miles taken in around 2
hours, leading to the open-air Eucharistic celebration beside the chapel.
The Mass was presided over by Bp. Esteban Laxague, SDB, of Viedma, and was concelebrated by Msgr. Miñarro and numerous priests from the region’s dioceses, including Salesians Fr. Antonio “Tono” Sanchez Lara, pastor of Chimpay, Fr. Pedro Narambuena, postulator of the cause for Ceferino’s canonization, and Fr. Manuel Cayo, provincial of the South Argentina Province.
In his homily, Bp. Laxague also spoke of the wounds and
challenges facing contemporary society: the existential void, the suffering
that can lead to suicide, the anxiety of not making ends meet, the difficulty
of accessing housing, addictions, and drug trafficking, but also the protection
of indigenous peoples and the need for economic development to be oriented
toward the common good.
Drawing on the Gospel, the bishop urged the pilgrims not to
shirk the responsibilities of their faith, but to embrace their daily struggles
as “artisans” capable of transforming reality. In Ceferino, he recalled, the
faithful can still find today a presence that leads them to God and sustains
them in times of difficulty.
At the end of the celebration, Bp. Laxague symbolically
presented 2 ponchos: one to the pilgrims who had travelled from Santiago del
Estero and the other to the group from Esquel.
Once again, Chimpay thus welcomed thousands of people
gathered around its blessed Mapuche—a people on a journey, with the simplicity
of a faith made up of gestures, prayer, and gratitude, asking Ceferino to
continue to accompany those who entrust themselves to him on their journey.
