The Apostle Saint James, who, according to popular tradition, is buried in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, was a man chosen by Jesus and a favoured witness to Jesus’ public life, death, and resurrection. In his apostolic and missionary zeal, he embarked on a pilgrimage to the lands that are now known as Spain and Portugal. His evangelizing efforts began to bear fruit, leading some to become disciples, and it was they who would carry on the missionary work in these Mediterranean regions.
Tradition also indicates that before her death, the Virgin Mary called each apostle through apparitions to return to Jerusalem to be with her in their final days. It is here that the apostle James met his martyrdom, which is not only a painful death but also a testament to a missionary life dedicated to preaching the Gospel. Thus, tradition tells us that his remains were taken back to his missionary lands where he was buried, with his tomb not discovered until the 9th century. When his remains were found, a church was built for this missionary apostle, which then sparked pilgrimages to visit his tomb and rekindle missionary zeal. Over the years, this devotion has brought together thousands of people each year who make the journey to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
I was one of this year’s pilgrims. It was both an opportunity and a blessing to walk “The Way.” I set out from Baiona, situated in the region of Galicia, Spain, and walked each day until I reached this missionary apostle. The route is challenging; each day brings its own struggles and pains. However, one of the spiritual graces I experienced along the way was listening to God reveal how my entire life has been directed toward missionary apostolate. I recognized once again that He exists in the personal history of each individual and in my own history, urging me to follow in the footsteps of this missionary apostle, who witnessed the life of Jesus and his resurrection. I realized that, in some ways, my missionary life has also involved observing and learning from the experience of Jesus and discovering the spiritual traces of his resurrection through sharing as a missionary.
Like every journey, it had its tough days. My feet hurt, and with each new location, a question arose, almost as if inviting me to stop: Why continue walking so many kilometers? Why endure the discomfort? Without a doubt, this question, like chairs on the way, urged me to stop during the missionary journey. These days were the hardest because I had to answer my questions in every prayer and at daily Mass, which I attended out of love for God and the desire to deepen our experience of the Risen One.
On the other hand, along the way, I met many people from diverse countries, languages, and cultures. Sharing a fact, words of encouragement, or a short or long chat with them transforms the Camino de Santiago into a multicultural and interreligious experience, as each pilgrim has motivations for walking “The Way” that change or deepen along the way. Simply put, no one arrives in Santiago the same.
Upon arriving at the Plaza de Santiago, you feel a surge of joy, not only from the company of thousands of pilgrims, the shouts of happiness, the songs of triumph, and the ache in your feet, but also from the deepest affirmation that “The Way” was worth it. Every step and every refusal of the chairs that urged us to stop brought us to the foot of the tomb of Santiago, the apostle, missionary, and martyr.
At the end of the journey, I had the blessing of concelebrating Mass in the cathedral and participating in the “Botafumeiro” ceremony in this church. It was an experience rich in culture and tradition, reflecting how the scent of incense that spreads throughout every church evokes the good aroma each pilgrim carries from their experience of “The Way.” For me, this experience was embodied in sharing the experience of Jesus and, above all, the joy of the risen Christ.
