Walking the Camino: A pilgrimage completed

On Friday, July 1, our rector Lydia Huttar Brown and her husband Mark Brown walked into Santiago, Spain, completing a 500-mile walk on El Camino de Santiago, an ancient route of pilgrimage across Spain. The Browns began their Camino walk at the end of May; it is the first part of Lydia’s sabbatical. Before leaving for Spain, Lydia wrote of this journey in two articles in The Announcer, the newsletter of St. Anne’s.

April 2011: In the 9^th century, a hermit in western Spain saw a glowing light in a field. Upon investigating, he discovered a small sarcophagus containing human bones. These were later determined to be the bones of St. James (Sant’ Iago), who had been martyred in Jerusalem, and whose body had been smuggled out by his followers and secreted away to Spain.  MORE

June 2011: We leave May 27, to begin our 500-mile journey along a centuries-old pilgrimage path, where millions of other feet have walked on the way to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. We’ll be walking for 35 days, stopping every seven days or so for a day of rest.  MORE

Walking together

Click here to read Lydia and Mark’s Camino blog.

During the time of Lydia and Mark’s pilgrimage, the people of St. Anne’s walked their own “Camino” by tracking miles walked either at home or on the new walking path constructed on the church grounds.  The St. Paul Pioneer Press published and article about this endeavor on June 30. This article is available in the newspaper’s online archives here.

A Pilgrim’s Prayer

from the Codex Calixtinus, 12th century

God, you called your servant Abraham from Ur in Chaldea, watching over him in all his
wanderings, and guided the Hebrew people as they crossed the desert. Guard these your
children who, for the love of your Name, make a pilgrimage to Compostela.

Be their companion on the way, their guide at the crossroads, their strength in weariness,
their defense in dangers, their shelter on the path, their shade in the heat, their light in darkness, their comfort in discouragement, and the firmness of their intentions; that through your guidance, they may arrive safely at the end of their journey and, enriched with grace and virtue, may return to their homes filled with salutary and lasting joy.  Amen.