The Camino de Santiago: Hiking a Medieval Pilgrimage

This pilgrimage has seen a modern revival and is now a popular hiking route for those seeking a spiritual or physical retreat.

A hiker on the Camino de Santiago trek through rolling hills. FreeCat. CC BY 2.0.

The apostle St. James had done considerable missionary work in Iberia when he was martyred in Rome in A.D. 44. After his death, his remains were transported to Galicia in modern-day northwest Spain, where they were discovered in the 9th century at the city of Santiago de Compostela. That discovery caused the site to become a pilgrimage destination, as many wanted to visit the relics of St. James for spiritual growth. A romanesque cathedral was built in the city, the destination of the pilgrimage that would be called the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James in English, or just the Camino) in 1078, which further cemented the status of the pilgrimage as one of the most important in the Christian world.

The late Medieval period, roughly the 12th and 13th centuries, was the heyday for the pilgrimage. However, as the political situation in Europe got unstable, especially with the onset of the Protestant Reformation and religious wars, the Camino fell into decline. 

Starting in the late 20th century, the Camino experienced a resurgence, thanks to people like Father Don Elías who marked the path after centuries of disuse and promoting it to a wider audience. Today, it is a network of hiking paths across Portugal and Spain that converge at Santiago de Compostela. In 2019, almost 350,000 pilgrims arrived at Santiago de Compostela. 

The cathedral at Santiago de Compostela serves as the culmination of the trek. CC BY-SA 4.0.

The experience of hiking the Camino is different from most other long-distance hikes such as the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail. While there are sweeping wilderness views, they are not the focus of the Camino. Instead, the focus is cultural. Hikers experience all the history the region has to offer, like the intricate Gothic churches and Medieval ruins. People take the trek for a variety of reasons, including for a spiritual awakening, physical challenge, or cultural experience.

Similarly, unlike a traditional hiking trail, the Camino is actually a network of paths that converge at Santiago de Compostela. Hikers can start anywhere they like and make their way to Santiago. There are, however, several defined routes that modern hikers usually follow, with the most popular being the French Way, which starts in the town of St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France and winds nearly 500 miles along northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela. Other routes criss-cross Iberia; some start in Portugal, others start in southern Spain, and still others go across northern Spain.

There are other differences from traditional long-distance hikes as well. Instead of camping out in the open every night, pilgrims on the Camino stay in ‘albergues,’ which are hostels specifically for pilgrims. There, pilgrims stay in bunks with other pilgrims and get to know them. Camping is discouraged and widely prohibited outside of designated campsites in Spain. There are pricier options, such as hotels, for travelers who prefer a more luxurious experience.

Lastly, in order to gain all of the benefits of being a pilgrim, such as the completion certificate and access to some albergues, it is necessary to show a pilgrim’s passport. The passport can be stamped at various locations along the way to Santiago de Compostela, which is proof that one has walked or biked the required distance. At Santiago, pilgrims who have walked at least 100 kilometers or biked 200 kilometers can show their passport for a certificate of completion at the pilgrim’s office. 

While the Camino used to facilitate cultural exchange across Europe, today, it connects travelers from all over the world who wish to take part in this historic pilgrimage.

Byran Fok

Bryan is currently a History and Global Affairs major at the University of Notre Dame. He aims to apply the notion of Integral Human Development as a framework for analyzing global issues. He enjoys hiking and visiting national parks.

A Pilgrimage to Lourdes: Why a Tiny Town in France Attracts so Many Visitors

Every year, 6 million pilgrims descend upon the town of Lourdes. Explore how the town’s history and developments in the Catholic Church made it so popular.

Lourdes Eucharistic Procession. Lawrence OP. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

In 1858, 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous, purportedly saw visions of the Virgin Mary by a spring in Lourdes, a tiny French town in a remote corner of the Pyrenees Mountains. It was almost unbelievable that the Virgin Mary decided to reveal herself to Soubirous, a poverty-stricken, sickly, illiterate girl. The town was immediately thrown into upheaval, with some questioning the veracity of the apparitions and others trying to see the sight themselves. Nobody else besides Soubirous ever saw the apparitions. But the spring besides the Grotto where she saw the apparitions was later revealed to have healing powers. The town was put on the map, and pilgrimages started soon after, continuing to this day. 

The story of how Lourdes became so popular is intricately linked to the developments in the Catholic Church. After the horrors of the French Revolution, Catholics found solace in miracles, pilgrimages and processions. The 19th century was an era of Catholic revival, with an increase in devotion to the Virgin Mary. In 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, meaning Mary was preserved from original sin. The appearance of Mary just four years after that proclamation threw the town into great excitement. The apparitions at Lourdes and the subsequent pilgrimages fit into the pattern of Catholic revival of the time.

That century also saw the consolidation of papal power in Rome. Papal authority became more prominent as Catholics became increasingly loyal to Rome. While there were other alleged Marian apparitions reported in the 19th century, Lourdes became the most famous because it had the Vatican stamp of approval. Pope Pius IX declared Lourdes an official pilgrimage site in 1876, demonstrating the increasingly tight link of remote villages to Rome.

The pilgrimages to Lourdes also reflect the expanding reach of the globalizing Catholic Church. Pilgrims going to Lourdes were not limited to Europeans; they came from all over the world. According to John T. McGreevy, a Bengali journalist made the trip to Lourdes and found “infallible proof” of God. Vietnamese soldiers in France during World War I toured Lourdes soon after their arrival. The diverse group of people who visit Lourdes show that the Catholic Church has become a transnational institution.

Lourdes Grotto. Kecko. CC BY 2.0.

Not only did the diverse array of visitors reflect the globalization of the Catholic Church, but the export of Lourdes to places around the world proved the same. Not long after people first became fascinated with Lourdes, aspects of Lourdes diffused to the home countries of visitors. The result was the creation of numerous replicas of Lourdes Grottos around the world, from the Vatican Gardens to Northern Indiana to Aruba. 

Today, Lourdes is a vibrant community—much more than the sleepy village of 1858—that attracts 6 million visitors annually from around the world. But tradition is still observed. Catholic Masses take place daily in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, and processions are still a common occurrence. People bathe in the water from the springs, hoping for a miraculous healing. Despite the global reach of the village of Lourdes, it still manages to preserve the Catholicism that brought it to fame.

Bryan Fok

Bryan is currently a History and Global Affairs major at the University of Notre Dame. He aims to apply the notion of Integral Human Development as a framework for analyzing global issues. He enjoys hiking and visiting national parks.

A Glimpse at Ethiopia’s Medieval Rock-Hewn Churches 

A group of 11 churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia, has been known for centuries as the “New Jerusalem.” The churches were carved from the natural rock of the landscape during medieval times and are a popular pilgrimage site for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. 

Lalibela, located in the northern highlands of Ethiopia, is home to 11 monolithic churches, each carved from the rocky landscape. The square and rectangular churches burrow more than 150 feet into the ground. Tall walls of rock rise around the churches on all sides, with their roofs sitting at the height of the natural rock. Worshippers and visitors at the churches access them through narrow, sloping staircases, and series of tunnels and passageways connect the churches to each other and to other religious areas like catacombs. Everything in each church is carved from the same rocky mass, including windows, doors, pillars, stairways and all decorative elements. Ethiopia is home to over 200 rock-hewn churches, but these 11, which make up a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are some of the best maintained and most impressive examples of this type of architecture.

Lalibela’s churches are intricate, awe-inspiring structures. Situated at the base of Mount Abuna Yosef is a rocky massif, a large, rigid section of the Earth’s crust. Ancient workers carved the 11 churches out of the rock from the top down, first isolating the outline of each structure and then sculpting the inside and the fine, ornamental details of the outer walls. The Lalibela church complex is divided into two sections of five churches separated by the River Jordan, one group on the north side and one on the south, and a lone church farther to the west. The churches date to the medieval era, and scholars agree that they were likely constructed in four or five phases between the seventh and 13th centuries. 

Ethiopian tradition credits King Lalibela, who ruled during the 12th century, with the creation of the churches. In the king's laudatory biography, it is written that angels helped him carve the churches over a period of 24 years. According to tradition, King Lalibela ordered the construction of the churches as a “New Jerusalem.” He is said to have visited Jerusalem just before the city was overtaken by Muslim forces, halting Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Ethiopia has been officially Christian since 330 A.D. and claims to be the oldest Christian country in the world, so the story of King Lalibela and the rock-hewn churches fits into the country’s history. 

In reality, the earlier structures in the Lalibela complex were most likely constructed for civic rather than religious purposes, serving as royal palaces or fortresses before later being converted into churches. Though not all of the Lalibela churches initially served as churches, the complex became known as a “New Jerusalem” and has been a popular pilgrimage site since the late 12th century. The churches remain a pilgrimage site today, and host daily religious services. 

 Aside from the large numbers of worshippers that gather each day, Lalibela’s phenomenal churches draw curious visitors. Guided tours of the complex are available, and travelers can also explore on their own. The most popular church among visitors to Lalibela is Bete Giyorgis, the Church of St. George, which forms the shape of a cross when viewed from above. Bete Giyorgis is the church that stands alone, not part of the northern or southern groups, but it can be accessed from the other churches through the system of carved passages. The wonders of Lalibela’s 11 churches contain centuries of Ethiopian history and remain magnificent examples of a very unique architectural feat. 

Rachel Lynch

Rachel is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing.