11/21/2023 0 Comments Camino de santiago pilgrimage![]() The effort includes religious, priests and lay volunteers who manage albergues and administer churches along the Camino. Rather it is a “commitment to make Christ present and lead to an encounter with him, because we firmly believe that only he truly satisfies hunger and thirst, truly heals the wounds of the soul, and alleviates the weariness of the heart of man.” is not an instituted organization, but a group of people who share a vision and effort,” the website of the pilgrims office at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela explains. Into this milieu have stepped Sister Katherine and other religious, priests and lay people who hope to bring a modern Catholic ministry to a modern Camino. The Spanish beer Estrella Galicia even introduced a special brew, Estrellas del Camino, in 2021 in honor of the Jacobean Holy Year, which is any year in which the feast of St. Spain’s national and regional tourist offices promote the Camino, and Spanish businesses strive to associate their products with it. To begin with, fewer and fewer pilgrims identify as Christians or have explicitly religious motives for walking the Way. James’s tomb inevitably incorporates aspects related to the more secular society the Camino wanders through. The connection between the Catholic Church and the Camino has never been broken, but the modern version of the pilgrimage to St. Many Americans set out in late summer when the intensity of the Spanish sun wanes and temperatures cool. Now, for over a decade, some 300,000 pilgrims a year have reached Santiago de Compostela by foot, horse or bicycle. In the 1980s, the footpath was re-established, and basic, cheap accommodations-many run by volunteers-were built through grassroots efforts in collaboration with both the Spanish government and the Catholic Church. Eventually, the original paths, including old Roman roads friendly to foot traffic, were paved over to make way for automobiles.Ĭhristian Welcome on the Way ia an effort to preserve the deepest religious meaning of the Camino de Santiago and help pilgrims in their encounter with God.īeginning in the 1960s, the Santiago pilgrimage and its route underwent a revival that continues to this day. It was among the most frequented sanctuaries in Europe from the 11th century until the early 19th century. James is a collection of the medieval routes through northern France and Spain to the cathedral in the city of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, where tradition holds the apostle St. James in English, and help pilgrims in their encounter with God. ![]() Sister Katherine’s ministry is part of the Acogida Cristiana en el Camino (Christian Welcome on the Way), an effort by the Catholic Church to preserve the deepest religious meaning of the Camino de Santiago, the Way of St. ![]() James and making the return to everyday life. With Sister Katherine, they were able to talk through their experience and its unique lessons before leaving the sanctuary of St. Like so many other pilgrims-over 200,000 so far this year-they had taken to the 500-mile pilgrimage route across Spain pondering deeply personal questions, seeking insight through the journey or simply wanting time to reflect and encounter God. “They wanted to just show how much they appreciated being given the companionship and the support of each other,” Sister Katherine said. Not a future together-”They knew that wasn’t right for them because they had families they had commitments”-but a future that reflected the impact of the Camino on their lives. “They came to talk about their future,” Sister Katherine, a member of the Faithful Companions of Jesus and part of the Camino Companions ministry, said. With Sister Katherine, they are able to talk through their experience. Pilgrims take the 500-mile Camino de Santiago seeking insight through the journey or simply wanting time to reflect and encounter God. Katherine O’Flynn, F.C.J., met them at the pilgrim s reception office in Santiago de Compostela. They walked together for the rest of the journey. After some 400 miles of walking the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, they had both finally met-“the pilgrim with two rings.” One evening at an albergue, as the lodging houses and hostels along the Camino are called, meeting pilgrims they had not met before, the widow and the widower each noticed the other’s hand. They were the pilgrims with the two rings, each wearing their own wedding band next to the wedding band of their recently deceased spouse-each, the widow and widower, walking Spain’s Camino de Santiago separately.Īs pilgrims met, passed each other, fell behind and caught up again, many heard and spread the tale of “the pilgrim with two rings.”
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