Non-Christian pilgrim experiences

[Rosina Lila]

The Camino  is fundamentally and essentially Christian because its core and
focus  is St. James the Elder,  the brother of St. John the Evangelist and
the first of Christ's apostles to be martyred... in fact, beheaded by Herod
Aggrippa.
The word Camino comes from the Christian  Gospel itself,  where Jesus is
considered to be "The Way"... The direct and literal translation of that
"Way" in Spanish is the  "Camino".
About 95% of the pilgrims that complete the Camino declare their purpose to
have been religious...Religious does not necessarily mean exclusively
Christian.
Last January I was entering St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and right behind me
there were a group of American visitors; one of them, on entering the church
took out a cap from his inside coat pocket and put it on his head.  Later, as
I was translating church notations  for the group, I asked  that one visitor
with the cap why he had put it on. He told me that he had done so
unconsciously, but that, as a rabbi, he had sensed being in a holy place and
had put his cap on as a sign of respect.
The Camino seems to me to be something like St. Peter's: fundamentally and
essentially religious, but welcoming of all pilgrims who find, and value,
their place in it.
Warm regards,
Rosina