Via Podiensis at One Year

Today is the first anniversary of my arrival in Santiago following my thousand-mile walking pilgrimage on the Via Podiensis and Camino Francés. From August 18 through October 23, 2023, I walked from Le Puy-en-Velay in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain on pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle Saint James the Greater.

I received my pilgrim blessing from my pastor, Very Rev. David Mulholland on the morning of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is an incredibly powerful day for me because this is the anniversary of the first time Francine and I walked into a Catholic church together, and it was a pivotal moment in my conversion. We call it our “Catholic Anniversary“.

Immediately afterwards, Francine, my beloved bride, drove me to the airport.

In the course of my travels, I missed my connection at Heathrow – I don’t know that I’ve ever actually made a connection successfully there, but still managed to arrive in Lyon in time to catch the last train to Le Puy.

After a full day exploring this amazing city, I began my pilgrimage by passing through the opened floor of the Cathedral and down a flight of steps.

So began what was, hands-down, the most difficult joyous, holy, and wondrous adventure I’ve ever undertaken. It was physically, mentally, and spiritually challenging, but it was also beautiful, serene, and full of the presence of God and His Saints.

The first few weeks in France involved a scorching heat wave, which later returned towards the end of my time in France. I count at least three days where I suffered heat exhaustion. The last ten days or so in Spain brought torrential and constant rain. And in between, I walked in every kind of weather imaginable, including tropical storm-strength winds and rain during my crossing of the Pyrénées.

The weather and the terrain were the most difficult challenges for me. Not necessarily because of the physical aspects, but because of the mental and morale aspects.

During my pilgrimage, I met and walked with some amazing people from all over the world. Unlike previous pilgrimages, I never had a long-lived “Camino family”. I rarely walked with any one person for more than a week or two, though there were some folks I constantly ran into, including Philippe from the Vendée (who I met early on in France and I think last saw in Los Arcos) and Tara from Saint Louis (who I met in the Pyrénées and walked with on and off probably through half of Spain).

I’m always amazed at the strength of connection that happens with folks on Camino. I’ve uploaded a short slideshow of some of the folks I walked with. It turns out that I’m terrible at remembering to take photos of people, so there are definitely some folks I missed.

Along the way, I visited countless monuments, prayed in countless churches, and visited the relics of many saints. Some of these experiences were profoundly moving, and some were indeed life-changing moments of pure grace. Miracles abound. This has been the most challenging part to unpack, and I’m nowhere near done yet.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to walk this ancient pilgrimage route. I’m grateful for all of those I met and those who helped me along the Way. I’m grateful for all those who prayed for me while I was on pilgrimage.

And I’m grateful to Almighty God for the wonders of His creation. There is an entire world of wonder outside your door if you only have the courage to take that first step.

Since I’ve returned, I’ve been working on two different books, with the promise of two more vaguely outlined. It’s taken me a considerable amount of time, far longer than perhaps it should have considering the relatively short length of these works.

This pilgrimage has been transformative if that’s not already obvious, but I’ve yet to fully plumb the depths of my experiences. The “Photo of the Day” project has certainly helped, though if I’m being honest, at the current rate of progress I won’t be through for another two years. Hopefully, by then, I will have returned to France and Spain.

I will leave you with a piece of graffiti that may perhaps form the core of my Camino musings. It’s a pretty good summation of something that I’m trying to find the words for.