CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Members of the Catholic clergy from around the United States hiked 100 miles of an ancient pilgrimage this summer, relying on God to give them strength to endure suffering along the way.<\/p>\n\tArchbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, Bishop James S. Wall of Gallup, N.M., Fr. Gerry Baker of\u00a0 Owensboro, Ky. and Fr. Don Kline of Phoenix accompanied auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley of Denver along the medieval \u201cEl Camino de Santiago\u201d in Spain from Aug. 21 to Aug. 28.<\/p>\n
\tBishop Conley said he was inspired to make the trek when he walked with a group of young people along the Camino last summer, but was unable to hike most of it because of a foot injury.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThink of all the saints that have made that pilgrimage,\u201d he told CNA Sept. 7. \u201cAll these saints down through the centuries walked the same path.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cEl Camino de Santiago,\u201d or The Way of St. James, is an ancient pilgrimage consisting of a network of trails all leading to the tomb of the saint\u00a0in Santiago, Spain.<\/p>\n
\tPilgrims have been making the journey for well over a thousand years to commemorate the life and sacrifice of the apostle.<\/p>\n
\tAlong with his brother priests and bishops, some of whom are former seminary classmates, Bishop Conley completed 100 miles of the pilgrimage in seven days.<\/p>\n
\tAlthough the requirement to be a certified pilgrim of the Camino states that walkers must complete 100 kilometers, or about 62 miles, of the journey, they decided to complete 100 miles instead.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt was a whole lot more challenging than we thought it would be,\u201d Fr. Baker told CNA.<\/p>\n
\tBeginning in O\u2019Cebreiro, Spain, the site of a Eucharistic miracle which caused a statue of the Virgin Mary to bow her head, was the \u201cperfect place\u201d for the men to begin their journey, Bishop Wall said.<\/p>\n
\tBeginning each day just after six in the morning with prayer, hiking until about 2 p.m. and then celebrating the pilgrim's Mass in the evening, the men completed as many as 24 miles in a day to reach their final destination.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cPatience\u201d and \u201chumility\u201d were among the chief lessons Fr. Baker took away from the journey.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt was a challenge for a group of middle-aged men,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n
\tArchbishop Coakley said his faith in God was strengthened by the trials he encountered along the Camino.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI think one of the things I've been focusing on a lot is trusting in providence, trusting in the grace that God offers in each moment,\u201d Archbishop Coakley said.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cOne of the things I experienced \u2013 we all experienced \u2013 was you never know what the day is going to hold,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, you just have to take it as it comes and recognize the hand of God in everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThis lesson has proven especially important to Archbishop Coakley, as his aging father has been battling illness.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI think one of the things I've been focusing on a lot is trusting in providence,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\tEnduring fatigue, blisters and even bed bugs along the way all paid off when the men reached Santiago.<\/p>\n
\tBishop Wall said in the \u201cmidst of the little sufferings\u201d of the Camino, he was better able to unite himself with the suffering of Christ and others.<\/p>\n
\tBishop Conley called the pilgrimage of Santiago a \u201cmicrocosm of life\u201d saying, \u201cIt sort of encapsulates, on a small scale, what our life is like.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAlong the way we meet people, we practice charity and forgiveness, but we have hope that there is a goal and we're heading towards someplace that is our destination, ultimately, it's our eternal destination: Heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tArriving at the Cathedral of Santiago on Aug. 28, the feast of St. Augustine, Bishop Conley was invited to be the main celebrant of Mass.<\/p>\n
\tBishop Conley, who chose St. Augustine as his confirmation saint when he converted to Catholicism in college, said he received a \u201cgreat sense of gratitude\u201d and \u201cconfirmation of my faith\u201d from having completed the journey, especially on such a \u201csignificant spiritual feast day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBishop Wall was the main celebrant of Mass at the tomb of his and Bishop Conley's namesake, St. James, in the crypt below the cathedral the next morning.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cFor me it was very important to make the pilgrimage to the burial place of my patron to be able to reflect on his life,\u201d Bishop Wall said. \u201cIt was powerful and something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAlthough the pilgrimage has been made by Catholics for centuries, many modern pilgrims making the trek do not realize the religious significance of their journey.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI just hope and pray that more people realize this is a religious pilgrimage,\u201d Bishop Conley said, because \u201cthis pilgrimage is built upon centuries of people's faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBishop Wall said that he \u201chighly recommend\u201d anyone, but especially \u201cpeople of faith\u201d make the journey themselves.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI think that on that pilgrimage, you ultimately will find the Lord, you ultimately will encounter the living Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
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Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Sep 11, 2012 \/ 04:02 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Members of the Catholic clergy from around the United States hiked 100 miles of an ancient pilgrimage this summer, relying on God to give them strength to endure suffering along t…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe"],"yoast_head":"\n
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