To Be A Pilgrim

This post is, literally, off the beaten track so far as this blog is concerned. En route from Malawi to Scotland (the beaten track) I have taken a detour to Spain where I took the opportunity to become a pilgrim. Since the 10^th century pilgrims from all over Europe, but especially from France and Spain, have been making their way along the “camino” to Santiago de Compostella where it is believed that the remains of St James are buried.

At first blush, this might sound to modern ears like an antiquated idea with little relevance to our contemporary situation. In fact, however, the pilgrimage has become more popular than ever. When I completed, I was the 1,075^th person to finish on that day. And I arrived at the Cathedral around 3.30pm so there were still many more to come before dusk. Something is prompting many contemporary Europeans, and others from further afield, to undertake this quite arduous long-distance walk.

To qualify as a pilgrim, you have to walk at least 100km (I just scraped in by walking the 115km from Sarria). Some are walking or cycling much longer distances along pilgrim tracks from all parts of southern and western Europe. It is like being transported into Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales with a broad cross-section of the population uniting in the common purpose of making the pilgrimage.

The pilgrim experience, of course, is framed by Christianity, especially in its Catholic expression, but there is no “hard sell” – pilgrims can connect with church life as much or as little as they like. Many small village churches on the route are open daily for quiet meditation and when mass is celebrated, it is standing room only. Other pilgrims keep their distance from the ritual of the church but, from my observation, most have a spiritual purpose in view – they are not just taking a long walk, enjoyable as this might be.

There is no mistaking the decline in parish church life in western Europe, but it might be a mistake to assume that this means everyone has adopted an entirely materialistic outlook. The thousands on the pilgrim trail day by day seem to represent a search for spiritual equilibrium and purpose in an unstable and uncertain world. I was glad to be among them for a few days.