Fr. Bienvenido Nebres' pilgrimage on foot

MANILA, Philippines - Eight hundred kilometers from the Pyrenees in France to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. 

Embarking on this pilgrimage — on foot — was something that former Ateneo de Manila President, Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, SJ, had thought of doing for a long time.

The Way of St. James or El Camino de Santiago is one of three major pilgrimages in the Christian world, together with Rome and Jerusalem. St. James was one of the first disciples and closest companions of Jesus, who witnessed both Christ’s transfiguration on Mount Tabor and agony in the garden of Gethsemane prior to His crucifixion. It is believed that St. James brought Christianity to the Iberian Peninsula. He was the only apostle whose martyrdom is recorded in the Bible. After St. James was beheaded in Jerusalem in 44 AD, his disciples brought his body to Iberia by sea. According to a popular myth, his body was covered in scallop shells when it was washed ashore on the Galician coast. Thus, the scallop shell became the symbol of the camino.

His disciples buried his body inland but the tomb was later abandoned in the 3rd century AD as a result of Roman persecutions of Spanish Christians. One night in 813, the hermit Pelayo witnessed stars shining brightly above the forgotten tomb and reported this to Bishop Theodomir, who recognized the apparition as a miracle. Bishop Theodomir, in turn, ordered the construction of a church on the site and declared St. James the Patron Saint of Spain. This devotional title is still invoked today. The camino emerged as thousands of pilgrims started flocking to visit the tomb of the apostle in the 9th century. Legend has it that the Milky Way was formed from the dust raised by traveling pilgrims and the place came to be called Compostela or “field of stars.”

Finally at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela with his niece Maria Nebres

Among the established pilgrimage paths in Europe leading to Santiago de Compostela from many directions, Fr. Ben chose to walk the Camino Francés (French Way), which is the most popular route. The Camino Francés traverses the picturesque countryside across Northern Spain. Having recently completed his 18-year tenure as president of the Ateneo de Manila University, the camino was a unique opportunity for him to “decompress” after almost 40 years of assuming various leadership and management positions during which his time was dictated by the demands of his office.

“I looked to the camino as a time when I could refocus and center myself,” Fr. Ben said.

Wearing his hiking shoes and hat, carrying a backpack, and holding a pair of trekking poles, Fr. Ben commenced his solitary pilgrimage on foot on June 1 this year. From the medieval French town of St. Jean Pied de Port, he headed towards the small Spanish village of Roncesvalles — famous in history and legend for the defeat of Charlemagne and the death of Roland in 778. This first day of his camino was one of the most challenging as it entailed a strenuous uphill climb and a steep descent across the Pyrenees. But it also provided stunning vistas of mountains, valleys, grazing sheep and cows, rocky footpaths and some woodland.

“My special intention in doing the camino was to reconnect with the values and memories that are central to my life, vocation and spirituality,” Fr. Ben said. “To create a break with a somewhat 24/7 tempo of life.” The idyllic landscape of rural Spain provides the perfect setting to the meditative nature of the camino.

It wasn’t always quiet introspection along the way. Fr. Ben met other pilgrims and new friends from different parts of the world. Among them were two Filipinos, Ronnie and Myra, who only had a week to spare; a French couple who started in Le Puy in France and had been on the camino for two months; Alain and Pascale, another French couple who have participated in Jesuit-run groups and provided Fr. Ben with good company; and the Hernandezes, a Spanish family whose grandfather said that his grandmother hailed from Pampanga in the Philippines.

He also met Hiroshi, a Japanese who has just retired from work and was taking 44 days to get to Santiago; two Japanese ladies struggling with their full backpacks, one of whom used to work with the Bishops’ Conference of Japan; Eddie from the US and Ellie from the UK, a newly married couple taking time to reflect before settling in Texas; and a German family who has been doing portions of the camino for 18 years.

Fr. Ben beside the monument of St. Ignatius in Pamplona

Fr. Ben kept running into a young Japanese man who spoke good English and a few Tagalog words. He dragged a wheeled luggage containing trinkets that he sold along the way, perhaps his way of paying for his trip.

While the camino is largely rustic, parts of it pass through noisy urban areas like Pamplona and León or run parallel to busy highways roaring with vehicles, like the flat and loamy sendas de los peregrinos (pathways of pilgrims). On the 18th day of his pilgrimage from Fromista to Carrion de los Condes, Fr. Ben walked through these sendas while speeding trucks and cars zoomed past him. The slow lane of the camino and the fast track of the modern world: two worlds coexisting, sometimes colliding. He met a kind man named Pepe who gave candies to pilgrims. Like many generous souls who offer comfort to weary pilgrims, Pepe is a friend of the camino. His parting words to Fr. Ben were “Venceremos … el camino para hacer más bueno el mundo” (“We will overcome … the camino is for doing more good to the world”). The spirit of the camino has its own power to prevail over the frenetic compulsiveness of our daily lives.

The typical markers that guide thousands of pilgrims treading the well-worn paths are scallop shells and yellow arrows painted on roads, pavements, curbs, trees, walls, and street signs. On the 28th day of his camino, however, Fr. Ben misconstrued a marker that led him to a detour, and inadvertently added two kilometers to an already long trek of 30 kilometers towards Villafranca del Bierzo. In addition, he had to walk against strong winds for some two hours prior to reaching his destination.

Walking an average distance of 24 kilometers a day, Fr. Ben suffered pain in his toes during the first week of his camino. Changing to a pair of larger shoes solved the problem, sparing him the blisters and foot aches that bedevil most pilgrims. No wonder podiatric clinics have been established in a number of towns along the camino.

In addition to the distance, uphill climbs, steep descents, and strong winds, the heat and long stretches on the flat and treeless mesetas (plateaus) were particularly difficult. The long years of regular jogging certainly made Fr. Ben a very fit septuagenarian who overcame the inevitable physical challenges of the camino.

“After the first two weeks, the walking becomes routine,” he mused. “One notices and is bothered by the heat and the rough terrain, but walking itself is pretty automatic. You learn that pain won’t kill you. You just go ahead and bear it, putting one foot in front of the other. As long as you can keep doing that, you will get to your destination!” It helps that there are signs along the way urging pilgrims: “Keep going!” “Ultreya!”

Some people complete the camino in portions because of limited time. However, not all pilgrims reach Santiago de Compostela. Others are unable to finish because of injuries or personal reasons. A small number have literally fallen by the wayside and died, largely due to exhaustion. Fr. Ben saw four memorials to deceased pilgrims along the way.

Attending the evening mass normally concluded each day of Fr. Ben’s camino. In Santo Domingo de la Calzada, he met Padre Jesús Ignacio, a young priest who celebrated mass with intense devotion and gave an inspiring homily. Fr. Ben said, “I prayed a lot for him for the years to come.” A special prayer from someone who has been a priest for almost four decades.

Santo Domingo de la Calzada is named after the saint who built a bridge over the Oja River, as well as a hospital, drinking well and church to welcome and meet the needs of medieval pilgrims. The most popular miracle attributed to the saint is about a young man who was falsely accused of theft and hanged at the gallows. While still hanging, his parents heard his voice telling them that he was alive because Santo Domingo saved him. His parents quickly went to report this to the magistrate, who was eating dinner at that time. “Your son is as alive as this chicken that I was feasting on before you interrupted me,” the magistrate said. Thereupon, the bird jumped from the plate and began to sing happily. Thus, Santo Domingo de la Calzada is known as the “place where a chicken sang after it was roasted.” A quaint reminder of this miracle is a live chicken with white feathers that is kept at the cathedral all year round. Its occasional crowing during Holy Mass provides comic relief to the church congregation.

A moving experience for Fr. Ben was reaching the summit of Mt. Irago where the Cruz de Ferro, a simple iron cross atop a weathered wooden pole, is planted. At the foot of the cross is a huge pile of stones left by pilgrims, representing their prayers of repentance, gratitude, wishes, and hopes. Like the thousands of pilgrims who have walked the camino over the centuries, Fr. Ben immersed himself in deep prayer and left his stones.

The most beautiful stages of his camino were the ascent to and descent from the mountain village of O Cebreiro. Birdsong and the soothing sound of running water from the Rio Valcarce accompanied Fr. Ben on his hike up. Cool sunny weather provided fantastic views of cloud formations, blue skies, verdant hills and fertile valleys on his way down.

House of Light: The magnificent Cathedral of Leon, with its beautiful stained glass windows, nativity scene and an altar of religious figures, is one of the most picturesque stops on the Camino de Santiago

O Cebreiro was the site of a Eucharistic miracle that happened in the 14th century. One bitterly cold wintry day, a priest thought that no one would bother showing up for Mass. However, a lone farmer braved the weather and joined him. Having little faith in the real presence of Christ in the Holy Sacrament, the priest despised the farmer’s sacrifice in his heart and perfunctorily celebrated Mass. After he said the prayer of consecration, the host changed to flesh and the wine into blood. The Lord had wanted to open the eyes of the priest who had doubted and to reward the farmer for his great devotion. A precious crystal shrine holding the Miraculous Host, the chalice and the paten is still housed at the Church of Santa Maria la Real in O Cebreiro.

Leaving O Cebreiro towards Triacastela marked the 30th day of Fr. Ben’s pilgrimage — exactly a full month. While feeling excited that he would be finally reaching Santiago de Compostela within a week, he also felt regret that his camino would be ending soon. “I guess the camino — the road itself and the experience — and I have become quite familiar with each other,” he said.

His solitary pilgrimage on foot ended when his niece and three colleagues from the Ateneo de Manila joined him at Sarria, a Galician town roughly 115 kilometers away from Santiago de Compostela. From then on, he had company for the rest of his pilgrimage.

On the morning of the 37th day of his camino, Fr. Ben finally arrived at the Cathedral at Santiago de Compostela together with his niece, Maria, in time for the noon Mass for pilgrims. He was able to concelebrate Mass and recite a prayer for all the pilgrims — especially those from Asia — that walking the camino may bring them closer to the Lord.

In the course of five weeks and 800 kilometers, the camino became a “friend” to Fr. Ben: “It was a wonderful experience. Despite inconveniences and occasional pain, I was able to enter deeply into myself, discovered new people and friends, and came out a renewed person. The camino has its own special grace.”

Pilgrims of different faiths and backgrounds have made the long and arduous trek to Santiago de Compostela for a thousand years. Whatever their reasons for doing so, they inevitably live the ultimate metaphor of life — a journey.

In many ways, all of us are pilgrims in life. May all of us have a good journey! Buen camino!