Oruro—Church of the Miners

I have visited a lot of churches in my day—but never one with its own mine! However, this summer in Oruro I found this unique church. High in the altiplano miners still work for silver, tin, and zinc, and this church is a place of refuge for the miners and their families before they engage in the dangerous work of going underground.

The church is brightly colored and in excellent condition. Everything shines and is full of joy! In the corner is the entrance to the mine where one can descend hundreds of feet into an old mine shaft (which has now been set up as a monument/museum in honour of the miners).

The photos give a sense of the place but do not capture the stale air and the danger that that these miners faced every day—darkness, collapses, poisonous air, to name a few! No wonder that the miners had their own god set up in the cave to call out to in their moment of need (see the last photo).

For me the church has a wonderful reverence! It speaks of celebration, festivity and drinking the moment—because this moment may be the last one. It is a reminder to not get too far ahead of ourselves, for the present moment is the only one we ever really have.