The Rev Alasdair Kay (Church of England) served as a Camino Chaplain both in 2018 and 2019, here a short report by him about his experience:
Rev Alasdair before Santiago cathedral.
I walked my first Camino in 2016 whilst
on a sabbatical as a Parish Priest. I began in St Jean Pied de Port
and walked to Santiago de Compostela and then on to Finesterre and
Muxia. Since then I have walked another serving as an Anglican
Chaplain on the Camino.
The Camino is a life changing journey on several levels. It can be a time of deep reflection where pilgrims grow deeper in their spirituality and often Pilgrims talk of times of encountering the divine in solitude and silence. Every Camino has had its times of real physical exertion and pain. This pain can be cathartic as it releases stress and helps people to access inner emotional and spiritual pain that is carried in life. The Camino is a place of healing and the healing happens at a deep level in a very mystical way.
People walk the Camino for a host of
reasons. Our role as Chaplains on the Camino is to serve those
Pilgrims who are looking for spiritual support in their Camino. Some
pilgrims like to share with others and want to talk to someone about
their inner life and this is where the Anglican Camino Chaplaincy
comes in. Whilst walking the Camino as a Pilgrim we have many
spiritual conversations with people on a whole host of subjects,
faith, death, pain, relationships, prayer, the sacraments, and
especially blisters and tendonitis.
Our role as
Chaplains is to come alongside those who want to form this ongoing
connection and often we gather as Pilgrims in what is called “Camino
families” groups of Pilgrims who become friends as they walk on the
Camino. We then as we walk share together our joys and pains in the
inner and outer journey of the Camino. This often happens around the
daily pilgrims meal at the end of the day eating and drinking
together.
This year I walked the Camino
Portuguese from Porto to Santiago and made 12 good friends who I
still stay in contact with. Pilgrims from Malaysia, USA, Chile,
Holland, Germany, Brazil, and Denmark, together we formed a Camino
family and it was a real joy to all finish our pilgrimage together
celebrating a special Eucharist at Santa Susanna Church in Santiago.
A bit more than
two years ago I moved to Santiago de Compostela with the vague idea
of “doing something for pilgrims”. A lot
has happened since then and a lot of people, volunteers, friends and
pilgrims have visited my house. Eucharists have been
celebrated around the table and many meals have been shared.
Sometimes the doorbell rings and somebody asks for food. Sometimes
crutches have to be organized for a neighbour that can’t afford to
buy them. Sometimes a pilgrim, for whatever reason, only needs a bed
for one night, sometimes a bed, food and practical support for much
longer. Here is the story of one such pilgrim.
Scaughdt the Peace Pilgrim, photo (c) Michael Matynka, used with permission.
The first time I heard about Scott, or to use his preferred name, Scaughdt, was via Rebekah from the Peaceable Kingdom in Moratinos, on Facebook. He walks with no money only relying on Divine Providence and without a phone. Before I write a bit more about the house, the chaplaincy and our little Camino network dedicated to helping pilgrims, I will let Scaughdt introduce himself:
“Greetings one and all … My name is indeed Scaughdt (pronounced ‘scot’), and I have indeed been a Peace Pilgrim – essentially living without any money of my own while wandering the Earth serving others for free; fasting until offered food and sleeping wherever offered shelter – for the past 13+ years of my life. Currently I am in the middle of a pilgrimage that has been following the Camino de Santiago; a pilgrimage that started in Stuttgart, Germany (some 2700 km ago) and one that intends to end in Chattanooga, Tennessee (roughly 900 km from wherever I make landfall in the United States sometime later this month). This latest walk has been designed to be quite “radical” (without using or accepting any money, without carrying a Passport or any other form of personal identification, and without once ever asking for food along the way) and has been thus undertaken to prove to Americans & non-Americans alike that strangers are anything but dangerous; to prove that it is high time for us all to reach out with acts of according kindness towards the neighbors in our own communities … I am not sure how effective The Walk has been to date, of course, and yet it has been an honor and a privilege to serve humanity in this way, and if given the chance I would do it all again a thousand times over.”
Update: Scaughdt has meanwhile returned safely to the United States and is continuing his walk. If you see him, say ‘Hi and Buen Camino!’ from me!
Scaughdt is a good example of how the house and the chaplaincy work together to help pilgrims with whatever they need. As most of you know, my home place has two free guest bedrooms that are used to provide accommodation for the chaplaincy volunteers (they pay for their own travel here and don’t receive any money for the work they do.) and also for pretty much anybody that needs a bed for whatever reason. Plus, obviously, for visiting friends and family. The house is quite busy on occasions 😉 When Scaughdt arrived at the house, Rev Alasdair was still here wearing his Franciscan habit (Here more information about his community: https://cfcfranciscans.org/). And pilgrim and priest hit it off on the spot because as it turned out they realised that they both follow a Franciscan lifestyle, each in their own way. Lively discussions were had around the table and, again, we all discovered that old truth, there is more that unites us, then that separates us. Scaughdt, being a spiritual person, had no problem in participating in our services, handing out service booklets and generally helping around the house (my windows have never been cleaner, many Muchas Gracias, Scaughdt!).
So, if you ever wondered where
donations to the house or the chaplaincy go, you now
have an answer. They go into to feed
pilgrims like Scaughdt and volunteers like Alasdair. They are used to
buy glasses, mugs, a water kettle and other bits and bobs for the
Ecumenical Centre. They are used to print out boarding passes and
tickets, photocopies of lost passports and so many more things. They
are used to buy more chairs so that everybody has a comfortable seat
at the shared table. All these are, seen separately, small amounts
but they do add up over time. So many,
many Muchas Gracias from Santiago to all that have donated.
Congratulations that you made it to
here 😉 I have often been asked what the relationship is between me,
Egeria House, the chaplaincy and how it all works together. So here a
quick round-up for the curious:
Why the house has a name – When I lived in the UK, I was fascinated by the concept of house names, so when I moved to Spain I wanted the house to have a name. By giving the house a name, and taking care not calling it “my house” too often, I slowly managed to get into the mindset that ultimately it isn’t me that provides hospitality, it is the house, I am just its custodian and caretaker.
Why Egeria? – Little is known about this woman from the 4th century AD. She was most likely from Gallaecia (present-day Galicia, North Portugal, Asturias and León), she might or might not have been a nun, but she must have been from a wealthy and influential family. What we do know is that around 380 AD she made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and other places in the Holy Land. She wrote a long letter about it which is not only the oldest report of such a pilgrimage but also contains detailed descriptions of the Easter liturgy used in Jerusalem in the 4th century. Egeria must have been a courageous and well-educated woman to achieve all this, I would have been happy to offer her the hospitality of the house.
Camino Chaplaincy – If you browse this website a bit more, you can learn how it all started and developed over the last 1,5 years. As for my role: I am the lay coordinator for it here in Santiago. This means that I pick up the volunteers at the airport, help them to get settled in, introduce them to our Ecumenical partners and so on. Not all volunteers stay at the house as some wish to make other arrangements. For those who do stay I try to create a bit of community life, such as praying together and taking care of the house. I also help to welcome pilgrims at the Ecumenical centre and with our services on Sundays and Wednesdays. And if there is a gap between one priest going and the next one coming like at the moment, I lead Morning Prayer on Sundays at Santa Susana and Evening Prayer here at Egeria House on Wednesdays. Like everyone else involved in the Chaplaincy I am unpaid and I pay all of my own expenses.
Camino Network – I am we are not alone in this fascinating Camino adventure. Just as Rebekah referred Scaughdt to me, there are others around that help. Just a bit down the road lives an old hospitalero friend of mine to whom I can refer pilgrims, preferably Spanish speaking ones, when I run out of space. Others, like Michael Matynka donate guide books and maps to give to pilgrims free of charge (Michael also took the photo of Scaughdt shown on this blog post). Others share the produce of their gardens or other food with us. Others contribute their knowledge and wisdom about how things work here in Santiago. In short, if I run into a problem that I can’t solve alone, there is always somebody around that knows a solution or, at least, can point me in the right direction!
Living a life of hospitality – Living an open house hospitality is not for the faint of heart. Sharing “your” space with strangers changes you and the space. Pots and plates find new places to live in the kitchen, you learn new dishes to eat and cook, and, perhaps most importantly, you learn to see the world, and the Camino!, through different eyes and from different viewpoints. In short, it changes you. Sometimes I get asked: “Are you happy with the life you have chosen?” To which my answer is: “If not, I wouldn’t be where I am and doing what I am doing!”
I normally don’t review books on this
website, much less putting them up as ‘recommended reading’ in the
side bar, so why do I do it now? Simply because this book is so good,
everybody interested in the Camino, and its spirituality, should read
it! Ok, I am taking a step back now and get a bit less enthusiastic
and more in ‘book review mode’ 😉
With “It’s about time” the author
has accomplished a difficult task, writing a Camino book that is at
the same time interesting for those that never have even heard of the
Camino as well as those who have walked many. Short
paragraphs explain the history of the Camino as well as practical
matters like the Credencial and the Compostela. And it’s
framed by a foreword by Camino author Joyce Rupp and a conclusion by
Martin Sheen of ‘The Way’ fame. But most of the book is about the
inner experience of pilgrims, more precisely how they felt called and
answered that call.
The structure of the book itself is quite intriguing. The chapter headings are based on John’s own rendition of Ecclesiastics 3:1
‘For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven’
These are then followed by a pilgrim’s account how s/he felt called to walk the Camino de Santiago and the author’s account about his own pilgrim experience on many Caminos, starting from when he heard first about it and leading up to him living in Santiago, helping pilgrims. Answering also, among other questions, why somebody chooses to walk more then one Camino and/or pilgrimage.
The book focuses heavily on the Camino
de Santiago, but also contains one precious story about the Japanese
Shikoku 88 temples pilgrimage which the author undertook in 2014. And
this one is my favourite story in the book. ‘Osettai’ is the custom
to give gifts to pilgrims, be it food, drink or paying for their
snack in a bar. It is a way for the giver to participate in the
pilgrimage by helping and encouraging pilgrims in their difficult
task. And for the pilgrim it is a chance to … (see chapter 7).
“It’s about
time” has one main red thread running through it, the internal and
external changes pilgrims may make in the way they think and in their
daily lives through walking the Caminos. The author has struck a fine
balance between taking the readers with him on this inner journey but
not overwhelming them with too many personal details. This way,
readers can easier identify with the story and see themselves in it.
All proceeds from the book go to charities that help pilgrims. Because the author is not accepting any fees or royalties the publisher is providing up to 2,000 copies free of charge, to Pilgrim Associations worldwide. Already books are on their way to many of them for them to sell to raise funds. 100% of what you pay for a paperback book bought from a Pilgrim Association goes to them to help other pilgrims. The publisher is donating 50% of all Kindle sales to a pilgrim charity.
So, It’s about time – you read this book! You can get your copy here:
For other ‘Kindle countries’ do a
search for ‘It’s About Time: A call to the Camino de Santiago Kindle
Edition by Johnnie Walker’ in your respective store …
I
met Xohán
for the first time in 2001. I was a hospitalera in O Cebreiro, he a
hospitalero in Triacastela. On my day off, I walked down to “see
the colleague in the valley” and we have been friends ever since.
We have never been hospitaleros in the same albergue, but often in
neighbouring ones. He was my SAPO, and I was his, more times than we
both can remember.
“SAPO – Literally Spanish for ‘toad’ as like in ‘jumping in’ but also the acronym for Servicio de APOyo (Service of Help). Basically an experienced hospitaler@ that ‘jumps in’ for a few days into an albergue to help out and give some respite to the hospitaler@ on duty.”
‘Nena’ Xohán called me, which means girl in Galician.
“Nena,
I show you how to prepare pulpo.”
“Nena,
I am coming over to help with Saint John’s night and we are making
Queimada.”
“Nena,
let’s go to San Andrés de Teixido together.”
“Nena,
come and spend New Year with me and my family.”
“Nena,
I come over for Christmas to your albergue, let’s cook together and
give our pilgrims a Christmas they will never forget.”
“Nena,
let’s go to the aldea (ancestral village of the family) and spend a
day in the countryside collecting mushrooms, chestnuts and herbs.”
“Nena,
…”
Xohán
was very much in favour of celebrating life and wouldn’t want to be
mourned, to honour his wish here a few stories we lived through
together. May those memories lessen the pain:
When
he took me to see his ancestral home, a traditional Galician
farmstead, he wanted to hang a new mirror in the bathroom. So he
drilled a hole, right through the water pipe. It took us a while to
find out where to turn the main water supply off and we returned to
Lugo soaking wet. Thank God it was summer.
He
not only taught me many Spanish and Galician recipes but also many
songs. Our favourite was ‘Caminante no hay camino …’ and, most
importantly, he never cared how badly I actually sing.
He
was one of the few men, I wasn’t in a relationship with, I shared a
room, and on a couple of occasions even a mattress with when we were
on ‘Camino duty’. His snoring kept me awake, but that was it. We just
were comfortable with each other.
One
day, when he was a boy of six or seven, and spent time with his
grandparents in the aldea, his grandfather invited him to help carry
‘sopa de burro cansado’ (tired donkey soup, bread soaked in red wine)
to the barn where two pilgrims spend the night. That was in the 1950s
and I will forever remember this story he shared with me as a
first-hand account that the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
never truly died – and the hope that it never will.
And
finally, a story that has nothing to do with the Camino, but all with
Xohán’s
beloved Lugo. He always said: “In Lugo, we are just half a metre
away from the Roman empire.” Why? One day repairs on the sewage
system before his mother’s shop were necessary but when the workers
started to dig they found a well preserved Roman mosaic. The
archaeologists were there for a long time, camping out in the
entrance of his mother’s shop …
But
Xohán
was more than ‘just’ a hospitalero on the Camino de Santiago, he was
also a social activist who put his money and hands where he saw a
need, a gifted photographer, musician and writer, an exceptional
actor – and so much more. He was my friend.
Xohán designed this logo for the Hospitaleros Voluntarios, a human being stretching out wide his/her arms to the pilgrims and carrying them all (as tiny figures) inside his/her very being. A symbol that is now worn by hundreds of volunteers …
I
am sure we will meet again in the celestial albergue de peregrinos
and if we two manage to behave ourselves perhaps the angelic
hospitaler@s will allow us to take finally a turn together as
hospitaleros. Cooking, singing, and yes, preparing Queimada for
peregrinos as we once used to do.
But
the heartbreaking thing is that only a few weeks ago I was in Lugo,
visiting a pilgrim in the hospital. I contacted Xohán
on very short notice, but we didn’t manage to meet up. Sometimes this
happens. You see more of each other if you live in different
countries as when you live only 100km apart. We were both busy, me
with pilgrims here in Santiago, he with his family and social causes
in Lugo. Xohán
died Friday, 26th
July 2019, just one day after the feast of Santiago.
Sit
tibi terra levis mi amigo hospitalero, we will see again! Your Nena
PS
Make time to see your friends and tell them how much they mean to
you, you never know …
Every now and then, and with increased
frequency this year it seems, the Donativo thematic raises its
agitated head on social media like Facebook. Often started by a
hospitaler@ complaining that the pilgrims of yesterday didn’t leave
enough money to take care of the pilgrims of tomorrow. Or by somebody
innocently stating that Donativo equals free as the Church (which
one?), the state, the European Union, or whoever or whatever comes to
mind, supports the Donativo albergues on the Caminos de Santiago. Or
a new pilgrim is just asking what would be the correct amount to
leave in a Donativo albergue. And then the discussions start …
Church and albergue of Grañón in La Riojy, on the Camino Francés, image (CC) Henri Bergius
I have served over the last 20+ years
in more than 20 albergues as a hospitalera and whilst Egeria House is
NOT an albergue, the work that I do here, be it practical pilgrim
help or the Camino Chaplaincy, is supported by fundraisers, donations
and my own money. If you don’t want to read the whole article to the
end, it has become rather long, here a short summary:
Donativo Albergues are maintained
exclusively with donations and don’t receive any public funds. They
are a work of love by veteran pilgrims and locals to help the
pilgrims currently on pilgrimage to Santiago.
If you can, leave:
… the place better, cleaner and
tidier than you found it.
… a generous donation, think what was
offered to you freely (not for free!) and respect the hospitaler@s,
as they are donating their precious vacation time, to help you, the
pilgrim.
…, as a rule of thumb, and if you
can, the same amount that you have left in a previous albergue where
you had to pay a fixed amount for everything you received.
… or 5 Euro (or even a bit more) each
for the following: a place to sleep, clean bathrooms and showers,
dinner and breakfast.
… nothing, if you have nothing, but
always, always leave a smile and a Thank You!
And now my longer take on the subject:
Donativo Albergues 101
A Short History – Medieval Times
The Roman-Catholic church did indeed support pilgrims to and from Santiago de Compostela, and other places, by providing food, shelter, spiritual and practical care. So belonged, for example, the little church and monastery in O Cebreiro to the powerful Benedictine abbey of Cluny in France. Or take the Parador here in Santiago, it was founded by the Catholic kings in 1486 as a hostel and hospital for pilgrims. These were financed by generous donations of the nobility and gentry plus with the income of the monasteries. Helping a pilgrim was, and is still, deemed a good work, a work that helped the donor to achieve salvation and his or her heavenly reward.
A Short History – Modern Times
In the late 80s and 90s of the last
millennium, the pilgrimage to Santiago picked up again, after its
decline caused by the Black Death, wars, reformation, enlightenment
and so on. Some 25+ years ago a young teacher from Catalunya
approached a parish priest who lived in a small village on the Camino
Frances with an unusual request: Could he help her to rent a house on
the Camino so that she could welcome pilgrims in it? Her reasoning
was that whilst albergues existed even back then, the human touch,
the personal hospitality was still missing. And so the modern
movement of volunteer hospitaleros started.
The priest was Don José Ignacio Díaz Pérez, at that time editor of the Spanish pilgrim magazine “Peregrino”. After the teacher finished her stint as a hospitalera, a couple of people took over and the albergue in Hornillos del Camino became the first of many albergues where the traditional hospitality of the Camino de Santiago has been revived. Today a hospitaler@, after having done the Camino, typically attends a preparation course that takes place over a weekend in many places of Spain and also worldwide. After that, they get assigned, typically for 15 days, to an albergue. These hospitaleros pay their own travel to and from the albergue, donate their free and/or vacation time to clean bathrooms, dormitories, kitchens, to cook with and for pilgrims and to pray with them. They don’t receive any remuneration for all the work they do in 15 very long days. The donativos are used to maintain the albergue, pay the water and electricity bills, buy food and other necessities.
Commemorative sign to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Hospitaleros Voluntarios, (cc) Jialxv
What Donativos can teach pilgrims and society in general
The traditional hospitality on the Caminos de Santiago shows that another approach to life, sharing and possessions is possible. The pilgrim receives what is on offer and available in the albergue. Sometimes it is just a place to shower, sleep and rest, sometimes it is a communal meal, a breakfast and/or a time of prayer and reflection. This hospitality aims to take care of the pilgrim and his/her needs without expecting anything in return. Yes, you read that right, if we hospitaler@s start to see pilgrims in terms of “possible donations” then we get it wrong. Of course, there is a box where those who want to keep this “pay it forward system” alive can leave their contribution, but that box should never be the centre of our hospitality. Generous hospitality, offered with an open heart and without judgement, has changed the life of many pilgrims, including my own, more than 20 years ago. Because of the hospitality I have received so many years ago I am now where I am and do what I do.
And a final word to my hospitaler@ colleagues
There is a fine line between explaining
to pilgrims what a Donativo albergue is and how it works and making
them uncomfortable by being too pushy towards the donation box. Here
some tips that might help:
Don’t overload the pilgrims, on
arrival, with information, they will forget it anyway. Instead show
them their bed, the showers and tell them to come back to you later
for more information, after they have recovered from their day’s work
of walking or biking.
A transparent or open donation box
helps and lets pilgrims see how much or little is in the box. If they
can’t see that, they will automatically assume that the box is as
full of money as the albergue is full of pilgrims.
Use, if possible, the conversation
during the common meal to explain a little bit about the albergue,
how it came into being and who actually maintains it and who not.
And, perhaps most importantly, try to
separate the pilgrims from the money they leave in the box. This
money doesn’t represent your worth as a hospitaler@ nor the
worthiness of the pilgrim as a pilgrim. It is just money and if it is
one day less than you need, rest assured the next day it will be more
than you need to take care of pilgrims.
Have I met true “freeloaders” aka pilgrims that had money, sometimes a lot, but decided to make their Camino as cheap as possible by staying mainly in Donativos and leaving nothing or next to nothing? Yes, over the last 20+ years it was around a handful … if you look at the numbers of pilgrims each year on the Camino, that isn’t many.
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