Pilgrimage: Camino de Santiago

Sat., March 9-Sat., March 16, 2024

The Program

Pilgrimage: Camino de Santiago is a spring break walking pilgrimage along the last 100 kilometers of the French Way of the Camino de Santiago, the most famous pilgrimage in the Western World. Pilgrims will walk from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, averaging 12 to 15 miles per day and staying in comfortable accommodations each night. The program involves a spring semester half-unit course that introduces students to the religious, cultural, and aesthetic landscape of the region, and will help students cultivate their own spiritual practices and reflective imaginations. The hope is that each pilgrim will emerge from the experience with a deeper spiritual life and a greater sense of purpose and place in the world.

Requirements

The program is open to full-time, continuing undergraduate students. The pilgrimage will draw on the rich Catholic spirituality that has shaped the route for many centuries as a means of introducing students to profound spiritual questions around meaning, purpose, prayer, and well-being. Each student will be expected to fully commit spiritually and physically to the experience and to offer an open and generous heart to the experience and to their teammates.

The pilgrimage will be physically and spiritually challenging, and students who participate will commit to cultivating their physical stamina in preparation for the 65-mile hike.

Applicants selected for the pilgrimage team will be required to enroll and participate in a half-unit course that meets weekly throughout the spring semester. The course will be a means to explore religious, historical and cultural contexts of the Camino and to build friendships within the team. The spring 2024 class will be held from 9-10:15 a.m. every Friday. Applicants for Pilgrimage: Camino de Santiago are encouraged to reserve this time in their spring semester course schedules.

Expenses

Participants will be responsible for passport and visa application fees, some meals while traveling, and personal spending money. Students may also need to purchase or borrow clothing and other items for hiking. The Chaplaincy will cover all other costs. Those with financial limitations or concerns should contact the trip leaders.

Leaders
The pilgrimage will be co-led by Craig Kocher, university chaplain, and Bryn Bagby Taylor, associate university chaplain.