A new ministry of hospitality at Santiago de Compostela aimed at
English-speaking pilgrims is being operated by a number of Religious
from Ireland.
Priests and religious from the La Retraite Sisters, the Faithful
Companions of Jesus, the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, the
Redemptorists and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are working
together to welcome pilgrims to the Cathedral at the end of their
Camino.
The ministry of hospitality was opened this month at the request of
the Dean of the famous Cathedral of St James and the Pilgrims’ Office.
It offers pilgrims a space for reflection and meditation, the
celebration of Mass, opportunities for reconciliation and a much-needed
coffee.
It also offers them space to begin to reflect on and integrate
their experiences before they return home. It gives an opportunity to
step away from the hustle of the city to find time for stillness and
peace.
The ministry is part of the new multicultural programme of hospitality encouraged by the Cathedral and the Pilgrims’ Office.
Last Saturday saw the biggest number of people pass through the Pilgrims’ Office this year when 2,465 Compostelas were issued.
Since the film ‘The Way’ was released in 2010, interest in the Camino has steadily increased.
People undertake the journey for a number of reasons. For some, the
motivation is explicitly religious, responding to the invitation of
pilgrimage through the ages.
For others it is a spiritual goal, where pilgrims take time to look
at the priorities and direction of their lives. Whatever it is, the
Camino is not undertaken lightly.
Fr Alan Neville MSC, Vocations Director with the Missionaries of
the Sacred Heart, who is a member of the new ministry in Santiago spoke
to CatholicIreland.net about people’s reaction to the Camino.
“I have yet to meet one person who hasn’t been profoundly changed by the experience for the better.”
“During my time walking the Camino over the last seven years, I’ve
seen people on foot, bicycle, horseback and even once on a unicycle!
There are people of all faith backgrounds and none. It’s an opportunity
to share, to explore, and to grow in our understanding of God, others
and ourselves.”
Earlier this year, as part of the MSC Vocations programme, he led a
group of Irish pilgrims from the beginning of the Camino in Frances to
Logroño.
“To describe the first three days of walking from the Pyrenees to
Pamplona as rainy would be an understatement. However the character of
the group, the welcome we received in the pilgrim hostels and the
companionship of the Way meant that it didn’t dampen our spirits. We’ll
walk another stage of the Camino Frances next summer.”
Santiago has typically been a place of rejoicing, but it has been touched with tragedy in recent weeks.
On 24 July, the eve of the Feast of St James, a high-speed train
from Madrid derailed outside the city’s railway station causing the
deaths of 79 people and resulted in many injuries.
According to Fr Alan, the sense of loss was palpable in the city.
“When I arrived two weeks ago it was a city in mourning. Shops had a
picture of the Galician regional flag emblazoned with a black ribbon. It
was a community united in grief, but a city that rallied to support the
victims and their families in whatever way they could.”
Santiago de Compostela he said was “a place above all of hope.
Those who arrive in Santiago are all searchers. They are people who are
looking for a way forward in their lives, whether it just taking some
time out or looking for answers to the deeper questions.”
“Above the Puerta de las Platerías, the traditional exit for
pilgrims from the Cathedral, the familiar symbols Alpha and Omega are
inscribed in stone. They typically symbolise the beginning and end. Here
however they are reversed as the pilgrim is reminded that as their
Camino has finished in Santiago, their pilgrimage of faith through life
continues. Buen Camino!”