Sabbatical 2022: Camino Steps – II

We continued walking the last 112 km of the Camino Francés through Galicia, Spain. Though Galicia gets a lot of rain, most of our days were perfectly sunny and not too hot.
All along the Camino are impromptu memorials and markers where someone initially remembered a loved one or marked an event and others have come along afterwards and added their own remembrances.
We stopped at the river in Lavacolla, a traditional place for pilgrims to wash before going into Santiago de Compostela. I couldn’t resist, so at least washed my face.
At the Monte de Gozo, or Mount of Joy, pilgrims get their first view of the cathedral, the traditional resting place for the tomb of St. James the Apostle.
In front of the cathedral at the special Holy Door, only open in jubilee years. Any year in which St. James’s Day, July 25, falls on a Sunday, is a jubilee or Jacobeo year. 2021 was such a year, but because of the pandemic, the jubilee was extended to 2022.
Our group surrounded the “0 kilometer” mark, outside the cathedral, with our well-worn hiking shoes.
The happy group. Some groups come into the square singing, dancing, or limping.
Just above the high altar is an image of St. James. His tomb is under the altar and can be visited by pilgrims.
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is known for its enormous incense burner. On special occasions, five men work together to hoist the rope that swings the censor, or botafumeiro. I felt lucky to see it swinging in two different services.
Many pilgrims, or peregrinos, carry shells on their backpacks or around their necks, symbolizing St. James. Mine was given to me by friends involved in an effort to establish an Anglican Pilgrim Center in Santiago de Compostela.
Anglicans share use of a beautiful, historic church with two Orthodox congregations, since no one worships at exactly the same time. Here, I’m at St. Susana’s on Sunday with the Rev. Colin Patching, a priest from the Church of England.
The Rev. Anna C. Noon is an Episcopal priest who has just begun as a chaplain to pilgrims and is also helping organize the effort around the Anglican Pilgrim Center.
One of my favorite churches in Santiago de Compostela is The Church of San Francisco, said to be built on a spot visited by St. Francis when he made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in 1214. This image shows Franciscan saints on the base of a cross outside the church.
A final highlight of my time in Santiago de Compostela was being able to attend the Corpus Christi celebrations. At the end of the service, a Eucharistic Host was placed in a special tabernacle and processed through the cathedral, followed by special prayers giving thanks for the Holy Eucharist.
This graffiti, along the way in Galicia (In Spanish, it says “The Camino,” or road, “begins [rather than ends] in Compostela”) sums up a powerful perspective on the Camino de Santiago: that the feelings, experiences, prayers, and relationships that are developed along the way strengthen us to keep following Christ. We keep walking and trying to be faithful, strengthened by the blessing of St. James (Santiago).