[2] The sanctuary is dedicated to an image of what many people describe as a "black Christ" on a cross that legend says miraculously appeared in an area cave where the worship of a deity commonly known as Oxtoteotl used to take place.

[3] After arriving to the site, they bathed in the nearby river fed by a sacred spring and drank holy water before entering the cave.

[3][7] In approximately 1537,[8] Augustinians, including Brothers Sebastian de Tolentino and Nicolas Perea came to evangelize the Malinalco region of which Chalma is part.

Most state that after learning about and perhaps seeing the rites associated with the worship of Oxtoteotl, Tolentino and Perea worked to evangelize here, urging the local people to destroy the idol.

The Augustinian order administered the cult and chapel for many years, before deciding to construct a monastery and buildings to house the pilgrims who came to worship.

By the end of the Colonial period, the complex was known as the Royal Convent and Sanctuary of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Saint Michael of the Caves of Chalma.

[10] At many indigenous shrines in Mexico, the previous sacred images were replaced with Christian ones, occasionally made of a corn paste called "tatzingueni" using a technique developed by Vasco de Quiroga, and a number of these figures still exist.

[4] After the supposed appearance of the Black Christ figure, the Augustinian friars proclaimed a miracle had occurred in the cave, word of which spread and even included the idea that the area had been freed of predatory animals.

[1][4] This sanctuary has been rebuilt and remodeled a number of times, with the most significant rebuildings in 1721 by Brother Diego Velazquez de la Cadena, and in 1830.

The inscription on the portal of the church reads "Venid a mi todos los que estáis trabajados y cansados y yo os aliviaré" (Come to me all you who are working and tired and I will give you rest).

[5] A relatively recent cult has grown up around the "Santo Niño del Consuelo" (Holy Child of Solace), which is an image probably created by a sculptor named Solache.

[3] Outside the church, on the path to the river is a space dedicated to the display of the folk paintings (called "retablos"), photos, locks of hair and other tributes left in gratitude for miracles granted by the Christ of Chalma.

[2] Most visitors come from the Mexican states of Querétaro, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Guerrero and the Huasteca region in San Luis Potosí and Veracruz; however, it also has received pilgrims from all over the world.

[3] Most pilgrimages to Chalma are communal in nature with different towns and villages in central Mexico having traditional days to visit the site.

Some parishes have tee shirts and special clothing produced for the pilgrimage, and others arrange to have colorfully decorated trucks to follow walking pilgrims for support functions.

[12] Whether they use other means to get to the Chalma area, modern pilgrims still follow the same narrow steep paths to the site that their ancestors used to get to the cave of Oxtoteotl and wearing flowers as they did.

[1] Those who come bearing sacred images from their hometowns place them near the main altar of the church where mayordomos, or lay religious leaders will guard them for the duration, which can be up to one week.

One recurring problem is with sanitation, and some poor pilgrims find the trip very expensive as food and lodging prices rise with the demand.

[2] The most serious problem occurred in 1991 during Holy Week, when twenty people died and forty were injured when crowds pushed to gain access to the atrium of the sanctuary church.

Today, a large number of security forces are present in Chalma during these times to prevent a repeat incident, as well as helicopters and ambulances to give medical attention to pilgrims.

The first is the Agua de Vida (Water of Life) Park, built by the State of Mexico and intended to be a kind of prelude to the sanctuary itself.

[5] Festival days in the community of Chalma are distinguished by the construction of large panels decorated with colorful flowers and seeds.