‘I’ve definitely missed it’: Thousands climb Mount Cristo Rey as Good Friday tradition returns

As the sun rose over the Borderland, hundreds of people filed up the dirt trail to the top of Mount Cristo Rey to make a Good Friday pilgrimage canceled the past two years because of COVID-19.

Some chatted cheerily, while others recited the rosary. Women carried babies, retirees leaned on walking sticks and young men lifted simple wooden crosses over their shoulders.

Volunteers from the Mount Cristo Rey Restoration Committee, wearing red T-shirts, kept watch over the crowd, which would number in the thousands by the day’s end. Unlike past years, there was no Mass at the mountaintop. But individuals paused in prayer in front of the towering limestone statue of Christ. Many reflected on the profound changes in the three years since the last Good Friday walk took place.

“I’ve definitely missed it the past two years,” said Rolaura de Anda of El Paso, while resting at the top with two friends who joined her. “I had been checking and checking to see if they would hold it this year.”

Members of the community trek up Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico, as part of the annual pilgrimage in the Borderland on Good Friday, April 15, 2022.

She carried a water bottle, printed with a photograph of her mother who died a year ago. She thought about her on the walk up, covering 2½ miles and climbing 820 feet.

“I appreciate the quietness up here,” de Anda said.

Catholics and other Christians observe Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. A pilgrimage also is held on Mount Cristo Rey the last Sunday in October to celebrate the monument’s construction and the Feast of Christ the King.

Continuing the tradition and starting new ones

Mount Cristo Rey is just south of the Rio Grande and just north of the U.S.-Mexico border. At each bend in the trail, a new vista unfolds, some facing south to Mexico and others north to the United States.

De Anda convinced her friend, Carmen Corral, to join her this year.

Siberio Holguin prays for his sick son at Mount Cristo Rey. Holguin hiked up the mountain as part of the annual Borderland pilgrimage in Sunland Park, New Mexico, on Good Friday.

“I’ve lived in El Paso for 53 years and I’ve never been up here,” Corral said. “These views are amazing. It’s just the mountains dividing our life over here from life over there in Mexico.”

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Angel Armendariz of El Paso said his mother told him his grandfather once hiked the mountain barefoot, praying for his grandmother to overcome an illness. This was the first year Armendariz, a military veteran, made the walk himself.

“I was digging around for a mask in the glove compartment when I got here,” he said. “And I actually found my grandfather’s pocket rosary, so I carried it up.”

He spent the walk thinking about his grandparents, who are no longer living.

Along the walk people stopped at small, turquoise crosses representing the 14 Stations of the Cross to say prayers. There also are shrines to our Lady of Fatima and our Lady of Guadalupe along the trail.

Community members walk up Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico, on Good Friday, April 15, 2022, as part of the annual Christian pilgrimage in the Borderland.

At the summit, the platform surrounding the Christ statue was crowded with people. They remained respectful, some standing in silence, while others recited prayers. Several women sang religious songs and played guitar.

After pausing to rest at the top and take in the view, attendees walked back down. A constant flow of people continued up as the sun rose higher in the sky.

More: Mount Cristo Rey once a figure of peace now a symbol of struggle

Pandemic hit home for Mount Cristo Rey committee

Mount Cristo Rey Restoration Committee spokesperson Ruben Escandon Jr. was pleased by the large turnout. While COVID-19 didn’t seem to discourage attendees, the committee struggled to attract enough volunteers this year.

The Diocese of Las Cruces owns the monument property, but committee volunteers manage the crowd and logistics. The Sunland Park Police Department and Border Patrol also were at the site.

“The average age of the volunteers is in their 70s,” Escandon said. “The pandemic took a toll on them.”

Community members pray at Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park on Good Friday, April 15, 2022. People hiked to the top of Mount Cristo Rey as part of the annual pilgrimage for Christians and Catholics in the borderland.

Committee President Rosario “Toto” Bustillos Jr. died at 65 of COVID-19 on March 19, 2021. Bustillos was born in Smeltertown in 1955, where he lived until its demolition in 1971. After retiring from 24 years in the Border Patrol, Bustillos followed in his father’s footsteps to volunteer on Mount Cristo Rey.

“Once he retired, he always was there helping,” Escandon said. “But March last year, he contracted COVID and unfortunately was one of the ones who didn’t make it.”

More: Trek for the faithful back after pandemic pause, Mt. Cristo Rey hike scheduled for Good Friday

Smeltertown legacy lives on at Mount Cristo Rey

Mount Cristo Rey’s history is linked to the Smeltertown community, just east of the mountain. Mexican American employees of the Asarco smelter lived in Smeltertown until it was demolished.

Father Lourdes Costa of Smeltertown’s San Jose Catholic Church proposed building a cross atop the mountain in 1933. Members of the parish built the road to the mountaintop, which was renamed Mount Cristo Rey from Cerro de Muleros, or Mule Drivers Mountain.

“We grew up in Smeltertown and La Calavera,” Escandon said. “My family and several other families were instrumental in Mount Cristo Rey. Many families that lived in Smeltertown were involved in building the monument.”

Spanish-born sculptor Urbici Soler made the 29-foot limestone statue of Christ. The statue was dedicated on Oct. 29, 1939, when the first pilgrimage took place up the mountain. Since then, an October pilgrimage and a Good Friday pilgrimage have been observed.

Faithful surround the statue of Christ atop Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico, on Good Friday, April 15, 2022, in this photograph taken with a drone. Members of the community hiked up the mountain as part of the annual pilgrimage in the Borderland.

Volunteers have maintained these family connections to the mountain through decades of change in the Borderland — and now through a pandemic.

“I’m a third-generation volunteer,” Escandon said. “It’s been handed down from my grandparents to my parents. And, hopefully, I will be able to pass it on to my kids.”

More: First Mount Cristo Rey pilgrimage held 80 years ago

Staff writer Martha Pskowski may be reached at mpskowski@elpasotimes.com and @psskow on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Thousands climb Mount Cristo Rey as Good Friday tradition returns