During the Middle Ages, pilgrimage to a holy site was considered the single greatest adventure a person could have (with the exception of warfare). And for Christians from the West, there were three pilgrimages considered the most important: Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago de Compostela in Spain. During June, I had opportunity to take my own pilgrimage to Santiago, accompanying my sister who was the faculty leader for a Stanford travel/study trip to walk the Camino. We began in St. Jean Pied-de-Port (France) and over the span of 12 days, traveled the 500 miles to Santiago de Compostela, walking about 5-10 miles a day along the Camino and getting shuttled via bus for the rest. We learned a lot about the religious history of the areas we passed through, and the combination of extended walks/hikes through beautiful countryside and visiting lots of churches provided me with time for reflection and rejuvenation.

Santiago de Compostela became such an important pilgrimage for Western Christians because it claims to possess the complete remains of St. James the Greater, brother of St. John the Evangelist and one of the 12 apostles. The height of the pilgrimage to Santiago was the 12th century, though the number of modern day pilgrims has been steadily increasing over the last two decades, and this year alone, it is estimated that approximately 1 million people will walk at least some portions of the Camino − an exceptionally high number because 2010 is a Holy Year (where St. James day, July 25, falls on a Sunday).

I look forward to sharing with you about the Camino and what I learned on my pilgrimage. Some of you might be interested in the long period of convivencia, an 800-year period when Christians, Jews, and Muslims all co-existed in Spain, and what this can teach us about religious tolerance and cultural exchange. The high church ones among you might like to see my video clip of the botafumeiro, the 80 kilo thurible used in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral and one of largest censers in the world. And others may be more interested in the pilgrimage itself. Over the summer, I hope to do more reading about the Camino and more reflecting on the concept of pilgrimage as analogy for our lives more broadly.

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