But it is, in fact, I that do not know the way--for this is my first time on the Pilgrims' Road to Magdalena. I know only a little more than most gringos about this tradition, and I am here as an observer, and as helper: four of my friends are among the thousands walking along the road, and my travelling companion and I hope to find them in the straggling throng of walking worshippers. Until we find them, though, we make ourselves useful by offering assistance to the hundreds of others who pass us by.

As the walkers approach, we offer them cold water, and many of them eagerly accept our offering of a styrofoam cup filled with water and ice.

     "Adios," they say, "Gracias, " and they walk on into the darkness.  We know we are doing our part--giving some small comfort to a few of the thousands of people who come to the town of Magdalena each October.

     There is a reason why nearly 60,000 people double Magdalena's population for a week out of each year, and that reason lies in repose within the Catholic mission at the town's center.  It is the statue of San Francisco--the saint of legend who spread the faith across the Pacific to East and Southeast Asia.  Francis Xavier, leader of the Jesuit Order, is held in more than high regard in these parts, and he sits at the top of a folk trinity that incudes another Saint Francis (of Assisi), and a very well-known local figure by the name of Father Kino.  Kino's bones are, in fact, publicly displayed on the mission's grounds at all times.  The faithful flock to see them, and to perform a singular ritual within the mission itself.

The ritual is closely tied to the legend of San Francisco (Xavier, that is), and how his body was reputed to have resisted decay after his death--even in the oppressive Sonoran heat of northern Mexico.  It is due to this legend that statues of San Francisco all across Mexico depict him lying down.  A rare position for a saint to be found in most iconography, the reposing holy figure allows for a particular sort of faithful expression among the pilgrims to Magdalena; they wait in long lines to enter a small chamber, wherein--surrounded by devoted worshippers--a lifesized statue of San Francisco lies in wait.  One at a time, each person cradles the statue's head in his or her hands and lifts upward.  Breathless, the others watch and wait, to see if the supplicant succeeds in raising the head of the saint from its resting place.

     Those who can lift the saint's head can breathe easy, for success signifies a good relationship with the saint.  For many, this is extremely important, for it was a promise to San Francisco in return for his holy favor that brought them on the pilgrimage in the first place.  For those who fail, there is only woe and uncertainty; the displeasure of San Francisco is well-known to be a serious matter, often ending in death by fire for the unfortunate sinner.  Penitents and pilgrims--peregrinos, in Spanish--also touch rosaries and prayer cloths and other icons to the statue to receive San Francisco's blessing.  It is at once reverent and joyous, an atmosphere of celebration and prayerful remembrance.

      Saint Francis' Day is officially October 4th, though the festival begins about one week earlier and continues through the holy day itself.  One interesting note is that October 4th is actually the day of Saint Francis of Assisi, but that Francis Xavier's day was moved from December to coincide with the leader of the Franciscan Order with whom the Jesuits had so much friction.  This co-opting of a festival day, however, seems to have little impact on the actions of the faithful, who come to express their devotion to both San Franciscos, and to remember Father Kino, as well as to party through the night with the help of the omnipresent Tecate beer tents and mariachis.