Some of the rescued miners have returned to the San Jose mine for a thanksgiving mass.
The miners, their families and friends attended a private ceremony in a tent at the mouth of the San Jose copper and gold mine from which they were hoisted to freedom last Wednesday.
Among the first of a dozen miners to arrive for the service was Juan Carlos Aguilar, who walked around the minehead holding the hand of his daughter and declining to speak to the press.
The ceremony was held in the area known as Camp Hope, where family members gathered to pray and await news about their husbands, sons and fathers.
'It's a very beautiful experience to be here and see where our families were,' said Luis Urzua, the foreman of the miners and the last one to be pulled to safety.
Miner Mario Gomez, who at 63 was the oldest of the rescued workers, told local television that he emerged from the experience with some advice for his grandchildren. 'Never go into a mine... Study a profession.'
A poll published on Sunday by La Tercera newspaper said that 84% of Chileans approved the handling of the mine crisis by President Sebastian Pinera, a billionaire businessman who took office in March.
Chile's president said his country had given a great example to the world of ‘commitment, courage, faith, hope and unity’.
He was speaking after arriving at Heathrow Airport carrying rock from the San Jose mine where 33 miners were trapped underground for 69 days.
Mr Pinera is due to meet the British Prime Minister David Cameron tomorrow before paying a visit to Buckingham Palace to greet Queen Elizabeth.
He said of the successful rescue mission: ‘We did it because we were united; we did it because we were convinced, and did it because we would never leave anyone behind. And that's a very good principle for Chile and for the world.
‘This has been very good news because it started as a tragedy but with the help of God and with the resolution, the commitment and the unity of the Chilean people we were able to end this story as a real blessing.’
He admitted there was a lot to learn from the accident however, saying: ‘One of the lessons is that we have to be much more careful and committed with the safety, lives, the health of our workers.’
Mr Pinera is to visit France and Germany next week.
Meanwhile, the rescue of the 33 men has focused attention on the dangers faced by miners all over the world.
An explosion at a coal mine in China yesterday killed 26 miners, another eleven are still missing.
