[Gocamino] A pilgrim; English Way

[blaroli at aol.com]

Hello you all,

 

Yesterday’s Santiago newspapers printed a poignant story about a young pilgrim that carried his mother ashes to Santiago.

Pablo Catalan, from Sevilla, had previously walked about 300 kms. of the Camino twice. Upon completion of his pilgrimage he promised his mother, who had been ailing, that someday he would take her on the Camino.  Sadly, his mother died, but young Pablo determined to keep his promise. Last September 2nd. he set out from Sevilla by bicycle, alone, carrying his mother’s ashes in a box secured to the handle bars.  During the eleven days spent on the Via de la Plata the young man, an inexperienced bicyclist, suffered several vicissitudes, from punched tires to loss of his food provisions and to a serious fall that caused him significant injuries when he embraced the box to protect it as he fell and did not shield his head and face.

But, he told a reporter, with tears in his eyes:”From the door of my house in Sevilla to the door of the Cathedral in Santiago I carried my mother’s ashes to a place where they will be blessed and watched over by the Apostle Santiago”.

 

The newspapers also reported that the Xunta, spurred by the Archdiocese, has finally agreed, officially, to spend 481,000 Euros (app. $690,000) to refurbish portions of the Calle Real in the casco of Neda which forms part of the English Way. The powers that be have informed that the project will seek to recover sites considered to be a historical patrimony, as well as to improve the quality of the facilities that render services to the English Camino pilgrims.

 

Lastly, several pilgrims have inquired about “official” and “verifiable” facts related to the history of the Camino.  The only such data that I have consists of facts and dates accepted as historical (I don’t know whether they are official and/or verifiable). Such data consist of several pages and I will post it a few centuries at the time in chronological order.

 

Hugs!

 

Rosina 

 

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