Hola, mis amigos de St. Bart’s! I’m writing from Villafranca del Bierzo, a small village of around 3,000 people in a northwest region of Spain known as León. Our group of 19 travelers has just completed the first 15 miles of the historic pilgrimage known as the Camino de Santiago. For over a millennium, in various fits and starts, people of faith have traveled to Santiago de Compostela in western Spain to see what legend says is the resting place of St. James in the Cathedral there.
In more recent decades, the appeal of the pilgrimage has broadened to less religious audiences. Scores of books have been written about the Camino; Martin Sheen appeared in a Camino movie directed by his son; an entire industry of Camino tour companies has sprouted up to assist eager pilgrims with their travels.
In 2022, our own Rob Radtke spent a sabbatical walking the entire Camino Frances, the most popular pilgrim path to Santiago de Compostela. (Watch him speak at The Forum about the Camino here.) In the wake of his own transformative experience on the Camino, Rob graciously agreed to lead a more abbreviated St. Bart’s pilgrimage in the fall of 2024. Because few people have the ability to take off the five or six weeks needed to complete the full 500 miles, Rob proposed that our itinerary feature the last 25% of the Camino Frances, or around 125 miles. I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to co-lead the trip with Rob as the pilgrimage chaplain.
Three days ago, all 19 of us convened in the city of León, a city 200 miles northwest of Madrid from which the larger region takes its name. There we acclimated ourselves to Spanish ways (like late evening dinners!) and recovered from overnight international air travel. We explored the remarkable Gothic cathedral in the city’s center and celebrated a Eucharist among ourselves to mark the start of our pilgrimage together.
Yesterday, we traveled by bus to Ponferrada, a small city about 90 minutes from León, where we met Fran, our Spanish guide. Fran (which is short for Francisco) gave us an hour-long preparatory briefing, warning us to refrain from rushing and encouraging us to do what we can to prevent blisters and fatigue. Then, at 8:30 am this morning, just before the sun rose, we were off! After several days of waiting, our Camino had begun.
Over the coming two weeks, you’ll hear from my fellow pilgrims on this blog. You will recognize many of them as St. Bart’s “regulars.” Others are members of the wider community: friends of St. Bart’s parishioners or friends of friends. While the majority of us are New Yorkers who spend our Sundays at St. Bart’s, we hail from all over the United States and have a variety of religious backgrounds and beliefs. For many of us, the Camino has already been saturated by prayer: on our own, in splendid sanctuaries that have stood upon this land for centuries, and together as a group in brief sessions of nightly worship. Others are approaching the Camino from a less Christian perspective. All of us are eager to get walking, to learn from one another, and to be changed by what’s ahead.
I hope you enjoy hearing about our travels, and I hope you will keep us in prayer as our journey continues.
--The Reverend Peter Thompson, Vicar
Camino Day 1
