TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — El Tiradito Wishing Shrine is often described as the only Catholic shrine to a sinner, not a saint. That is just part of the legend.
What we do know outside of the folklore and legend is that El Tiradito Wishing Shrine has been a fixture in Tucson's Barrio Viejo for more than a century.
"There are so many different versions of this story," said Jaynie Adams, History Engagement Manager of the Arizona Historical Society.
The story is associated with the El Tiradito Wishing Shrine located in Tucson's Barrio Viejo, south of downtown.
"The one that I know, and the one that I grew up with, is the most salacious," explained Adams.
She says there are more than 20 versions of how this shrine came to be.
Most versions are set in the 1870s and focus on a man named Juan Oliveras. He was an 18-year-old, recently married to a Mexican sheep rancher's daughter.
"He falls in love with his mother-in-law and is busted having relations with her," Adams said. "His father-in-law loses his temper and kills him over it. Because of the circumstances of his death, he can't be buried on consecrated ground. He's buried where he falls. That area may or may not be where we're standing right now at El Tiradito."
Since the Catholic Church wouldn't allow Oliveras to be buried in its cemetery, neighbors came to the site of his death to light candles and pray for his soul.
As people continued to light candles and pray at the site, the shrine grew. It became known as El Tiradito—"The Castaway."
"One of those really great instances of what we call 'folk Catholicism'," said Adams. "Kind of the blending of traditional values and beliefs with traditional Catholic religiosity. We get kind of this lovely representation of that."
For more than a century, people of faith have been coming to the shrine to light candles. Folklore says if you light a candle and it burns through the night, your wish will come true.
The wishing shrine is such an important part of Barrio Viejo, it was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1971. That historic designation prevented a proposed cross-town freeway from tearing through one of Tucson's earliest neighborhoods.
"As a Tucsonan, I always laugh when you meet new people and they're like, 'why is there not an east-west freeway?'" Adams said. "I'm like, 'come on, let's go get lunch and I'll show you'."
El Tiradito takes on special meaning during Tucson's Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, celebration.
"It was a tradition in my family where we'd park in this area," Adams said. "When you're walking back to your car you kind of make the stop here to make your last prayer, your last kind of, well, wish for your ancestor, before you went home for the night."
If you visit, you'll still see lit candles as well as rolled-up notes placed in holes in the weathered adobe wall.
After nearly 150 years, El Tiradito Wishing Shrine remains an important part of Tucson's culture.
"A meeting place for people who are lost, people who are grieving, people who are searching for answers," said Adams. "I think that will continue."
A shrine to a sinner, not a saint—or just a place to reflect on those we've lost—El Tiradito Wishing Shrine is Absolutely Arizona.
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Pat Parris is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. He is a graduate of Sabino High School where he was the 1982 high school state track champion in the 800 meters. While in high school and college, he worked part-time in the KGUN 9 newsroom. Share your story ideas and important issues with Pat by emailing pat.parris@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
