In this project I seek to explore through extended interviewing, participant observation, and material analysis the extent to which the penitente Holy Week rituals performed in the northern New Mexican village of Arroyo Seco shape the participants’ identity and beliefs as Roman Catholics. Since at least the beginning of the 19th century, the hermanos (brothers), the auxiladores (women’s auxiliary), the Veronicas (young girls), other members of the parish and village, as well as visitors have been performing rituals in commemoration of the final days and death of Jesus Christ. La Fraternidad (the brotherhood) has endured a historically contentious relationship with the Roman Catholic Church, including condemnation by the Vatican in 1854, and reconciliation with it in 1962. Consequently, the rituals have evolved into a unique combination of private and public performances, which not only interweave with the official Holy Week rites of the local Roman Catholic community, but also compose a portion of the local parish’s annual repertoire of performed sacred dramas. The rich juxtaposition of these penitente practices with official Roman Catholic ones, an important site of primary theology, provides a fertile opportunity for investigating how ethnographic research can not only reshape theological studies, but also deepen the study of religion in America.