Dec. 17, 2014

By Mary Lou Kilian
Editor

Father Joseph A. Morgan and Father Kevin J. O’Brien were following an ancient Catholic tradition when they followed the road from the French Pyrenees across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela.

From Sept. 17 to Oct. 21, the two diocesan priests took part in the Camino de Santiago – the Way of St. James - an 800 kilometer (around 500 miles) foot pilgrimage.

Father Morgan, rector of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Ogdensburg and vicar general; and Father O’Brien, pastor in Heuvelton and Lisbon and moderator of the curia, completed the six week pilgrimage by walking six or seven miles each day.

Their journey ended at the cathedral of Compostela where the remains of the apostle St. James the Greater (Santiago in Spanish) are buried.

St. James was a pilgrim himself as he traveled from Jerusalem to this northwestern-most province of Spain, to evangelize the people there.

The city of Compostela has been a pilgrim destination for 11 centuries with St. Francis Assisi included among many notable pilgrims. This year marks the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’ camino walk.

Back in the 12th century, with the increased popularity of the route, hostels were built within a day’s walk of each other and churches were erected to accommodate the crowds of worshippers who passed by on their way.
Father Morgan and Father O’Brien attended daily Masses – and received blessing for pilgrims - at churches all along the way

Father Morgan said, “a woman who was giving advice on how to get past a detour said, ‘always look for and follow the church on your camino and you will never get lost.’”

“This was true on many levels,” he said. “Coming into a town, we’d look for a church steeple and inevitably the camino route passed by there.

Father O’Brien said that “hearing the church bells and seeing crosses all along the way called us back to the reason we were doing this.”

Although many walk the camino for sport or adventure, Father O’Brien and Father Morgan were on a pilgrimage, a journey with the purpose to honor God.

Father Morgan joked that physical demands of the walk, along rough and mountainous terrain, meant that the two of them “prayed very hard” every day.

The priests walked in rain and heat, carrying all their belongings – including a scallop shell, the sign of St. James and camino pilgrims - in backpacks.

They slept in hostels and had their credentials del peregrine – camino passports – stamped at the spiritual stops along the way.

The most difficult part of the journey “was just getting used to everything,” Father O’Brien said, “following the arrows – shells – along the way.”

Father Morgan remembers getting lost for a bit as he missed an arrow while watching where he was placing his feet on a rocky path.

Father O’Brien pointed to the Pilgrims Prayer as a source of their strength. In part it reads, “Guard these your children who, for the love of your Name, make a pilgrimage to Compostela. Be their companions on their way, their guide at the crossroads, their strength in weariness, their shelter on the path, their shared in the heat, their light in darkness, their comfort in discouragement…”

The highlight of the camino for Father Morgan and Father O’Brien was its culmination at the cathedral in Compostela.

“We had such a sense of accomplishment and unity,” Father O’Brien said. “Everyone was celebrating.”
The pilgrim Mass is celebrated at noon each day and pilgrims, including the two priests, climbed up to give a hug to the ancient statue of St. James.

Even after walking for six weeks, Father Morgan and Father O’Brien know there journey is not complete.
“The real goal is heaven,” Father O’Brien said.

Father Morgan quoted one of the signs he saw along the way: “Your journey, your camino, does not end in Santiago but in the very heart of God.”