By Fr. Peter F. Mallin, OFM Conv.

This month marks fifty years since my family moved from Rhode Island to Torrance, CA. and joined St. James Church, in Redondo Beach. The following fall, I entered 8^th grade at St. James School when it was across the street on Pacific Coast Highway. St. James Church would play a major role in my Catholic upbringing. It was the site of my Confirmation in 1976. I was ordained to the priesthood and celebrated my first Mass at St. James in June 1990; and celebrated my Silver Jubilee of ordination at St. James in 2015. St. James Church was the site of my father’s funeral mass in 2002 (who coincidentally was also named ‘James’).

Soon after first arriving at St. James Church, I noticed the symbol of scallop shells on the front of the main altar and the back walls in the sanctuary. I originally assumed that because the church was built close to the beach, the architect designed it with an ‘ocean theme.’ I could not have been more mistaken.

The church is dedicated to the memory of St. James the Apostle, who is often described in the gospels as one of the three main disciples of Jesus alongside of his brother John (who are both described as the sons of Zebedee, the ‘Sons of Thunder’) and Simon Peter. At his first encounter with Jesus, the three of them are fishing in the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:18-22). They would also be with Jesus when he is Transfigured on Mount Tabor (Matthew 17:1-8). James is last mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (12:1-3) when he was martyred by King Herod in Jerusalem. Tradition has it that upon the death of Jesus, St. James sailed to Padron, Galicia in the region of Spain to preach the gospel, before returning to Jerusalem to becomes its first bishop and suffering martyrdom in AD 42. His disciples brought his body back to Padron and buried him in the village of Libredon, which would later become Santiago. In AD 813, a shepherd named Pelayo witnessed bright lights hovering over a meadow. The field (campo) of stars (estrellas) gave us the traditional full name of the city of Santiago de Compostela. The local bishop declared that the shepherd had found the lost tomb of St. James, and the quite humble town of Santiago would never be the same again. The fame of St. James grew as people prayed for his intercession, especially during the armed struggle between Christians and Moors in Spain. As early as AD 950, records speak of Christians making pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela. By the Middle Ages, it was one of three major pilgrimage destinations, along with Rome and Jerusalem. And because it was relatively accessible, Santiago eventually over shadowed all other pilgrimage sites. Tens of thousands of pilgrims journeying there annually from all parts of Europe, to pray at the tomb of the beloved disciple and visit the magnificent church dedicated to his honor. Entire villages were formed along the pilgrimage routes for the sole purpose of taking care of pilgrims on their way to Santiago. In modern times, the number of pilgrims walking to Santiago average about 70,000 per year, with most people walking between July and September. The liturgical feast of St. James is celebrated every July 25.

I first visited the Basilica of Santiago de Compostela in 2007 when I was part of a tour group which spent ten days covering the shrines of Lourdes, Compostela and Fatima. We did see the other major attraction connected to this shrine, which is the swinging of the 4-foot high, 100-pound thurible. (Popular opinion has it that it was done to mask the odor of the pilgrims’ sweaty stench after arriving for Mass from their long journey.) I also noticed the symbols of the scallop shells all over the city of Santiago, which I immediately remembered about St. James Church, Redondo Beach, and finally made the connection! (One legend says that a man escorting the remains of St. James to his burial place in Galicia fell off his horse into the water, but was saved when he emerged unharmed but covered in scallop shells. Another tradition simply states that the lines on the shell represents the multiple routes to Santiago de Compostela.)

After seeing the thurible swing during my first visit, I thought I had seen and heard everything there was about the Basilica of Santiago de Compostela. That is when we were told by our tour guide of the Camino Walk, the pilgrimage from one of several points outside of Santiago. While standing in the piazza in front of the Basilica, I noticed many people who looked like they had been on a long hike, and had the look of accomplishment on their faces as they made their way to the pilgrimage office to pick up their compostela, a pilgrim document that says they completed the Camino. The more I heard of the Camino Walk, the more I realized that there was much more to Santiago de Compostela than I thought. The idea was born in me that I would like someday to return to Santiago specifically to do the Camino Walk.

That day would come eighteen years later in May of 2025, when friends at my parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Hermosa Beach, who were also Camino veterans, asked me to join them on the 110 km and six-day Camino Walk from Sarria to Santiago, Spain. It was confirmation for me that the Lord reads our hearts desires and will fulfill them in His own good time. For me, the Lord wanted me to wait for my 35^th anniversary of priesthood, the year declared as “Pilgrims of Hope”, and after experiencing the most serious health challenge I have had to date. In January, 2024 doctors noticed a suspicious growth on my right kidney and who immediately suspected kidney cancer. On June 3^rd of that year, I underwent a partial nephrectomy to remove the growth which a biopsy proved was cancer. Luckily, there were no signs of cancer outside the tumor margins, so I felt I was among the lucky ones.

Later that year, after accepting the offer to join fellow OLG parishioners on the Camino, I started my conditioning walks for what I knew would still be a demanding journey, especially for someone my age. I would walk almost every day for about 1 ½ miles, before starting a hike between OLG and LCM hospital where I work as a chaplain, a round trip of five miles. I also started collecting prayer petitions from people whom I told I was going on the Camino; I promised to carry them in my back pack and place them at the tomb of St. James upon my arrival.

While most people are vaguely familiar with the idea of what it means to be a pilgrim on a pilgrimage, the reality is that we are all pilgrims on a journey. Pope St. John Paul II put it well when he said, “We are pilgrims progressing from time to eternity, and our goal is the Father himself. He constantly calls us beyond what is familiar and comfortable to new paths of faith and trust.” This is what is meant to be on the Camino Walk to Santiago, whether like me you walked for just six days and 110km, or for over thirty days on one of the many 800km routes. One learns a great deal about one self, others, and God when one walks day after day.

Considering Pope St. John Paul II’s quote, one realizes that Jesus is the Camino, since he is the one that every human heart seeks. A major focus of one’s thoughts throughout one’s journey is aways going to be what one carries in one’s back pack; “Did I pack what I really needed?” was constantly going through my head. But since the spiritual life is always about detachment, one should reflect on is, “Lord, what is it that you want me to get rid of in terms of excess luggage in the soul? Different people make the Camino for different reasons, but when asked why they make the Camino, most say that they are searching. They do not always know for what they are looking for, but they just know that there is something lacking in their lives and they hope to find it on the Camino.

On April 30^th, 2025 we arrived by train in Sarria, Spain, on a wet and rainy night, where we prepared for our journey for the next morning. I had also prepared for my hike by getting a good pair of hiking boots, blister proof hiking socks and waterproof hiking pants. What I did not expect was to end up pulling my sciatic muscle in my left leg at the Chicago airport in between flights to Madrid; nor to catch a scratchy throat which turning into a nagging cough. Both cough and sciatica would dog me for the rest of my journey through Spain. That was what I decided to offer to God on my Camino Walk, in addition to 35 years of being a priest, a Pilgrim of Hope and being a cancer survivor. This is the first thing to remember when doing the Camino – what are you there for other than just to pick up your compostela at the end of the journey. For the Camino Walk, the journey itself can be just as important as the destination.

My journey on the Camino started out with good weather the first day, and I ended the day feeling I had a relatively smooth journey and covered a lot of ground. We were joined by many others, mostly young people who could obviously walk faster than myself and the couple I was with who were in our 60’s. But you learn that this is not a race but a journey, and the others on the road are not my competitors but companions. It was a common courtesy to wish people a “Buen Camino!” as you walked with them. Here, the Camino makes us conscious of who we meet each day as our companions on the pilgrimage of life. Whenever the gift of encouragement is extended to us, it takes us into a larger circle of life and we enter the reality of being one great family of humanity. The country scenery was also conducive towards learning that natural beauty around you can be appreciated even if you are dealing with discomforts that come with the Camino. That is also a key idea with the spiritual life; some people can be so full of physical and emotional pain that they are unable to see the beauty around them.  The Camino teaches a lesson not to judge and be more patient with them. Also, since no one is made to do the Camino, I could have stopped anytime and my discomfort would end; but I just kept getting up each day and kept moving. As a reward, I witness the beautiful scenery of the Spanish countryside with rolling green hills, tree covered roads, and humble stone chapels. Occasionally, we even shared the roads with herds of livestock being transferred from their stalls to the grazing fields.

The second day was the greatest reminder that the Camino brings with it greater challenges and burdens which can reflect life itself. We started earlier than planned to out-run a rain storm in the forecast. No such luck. We had non-stop rain showers almost all day, and had to contend with muddy foot paths, many steep hills, and wet muddy clothes with hiking boots to match. While everyone on the road endured the same challenges, everyone still had to carry their own crosses that only they alone could carry. As much as we are inclined to help lighten another’s burdens on the journey, the ones who stubble along the way must eventually get up, pick their own cross and move on with everyone else.

The third day was significant for me, not just for the walk itself, but that it took place on the eleven-month anniversary of my surgery for kidney cancer. The other days were relatively free from bad weather and muddy foot paths, but we had other hazards to face such as narrow stone bridges over streams and having to cross busy highways. I saw three signs that served as memorials to pilgrims who passed away while on the Camino; just a handful of millions over the centuries who traveled the same roads to the same destination. One of the most famous pilgrims to Santiago was St. Francis of Assisi. The flechas amarillas (yellow arrows) along the way guided pilgrims in the right direction and told us how many kilometers were left in our journey. We finally completed our journey on the 6^th of May, 2025 when we reached the Basilica of Santiago de Compostela. We picked up our compostela at the Pilgrim’s office and attended the Pilgrim’s Mass in the evening where we witnessed the swinging of the giant thurible across the sanctuary. Since I was concelebrating the Mass, it passed just a few feet in front of me. I was also able to visit the tomb of St. James and dropped off the list of pray petitions that I carried during my Camino.

The Way of St. James ultimately teaches everyone that our very life is a pilgrimage and we are being further invited to be brought closer to Christ. Most of the time, our lives are too caught up in external things for us to hear the inner voice of God’s invitation. But if we get away from the chaos and be still, we can hear and sense it. As St. Augustine said, “You moved us to delight in praising you; for you have formed us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” It is in the quiet and solitude that we understand why we are walking. It is in the stillness that we more fully understand to whom we are walking toward. When I shared my experience on the Camino, it was simply about getting up every day and walking through the Spanish countryside. Nothing seemed complicated about it. This is also the case of the spiritual life. If you want to receive the prize prepared for you from the beginning of time, you only need to keep walking. God has promised to be with us every step of the way. As Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path.” Notice that the psalm does not say that God is a light all the way down the road. How often we want God to light the whole way to the very end, but God chooses not to work that way. The Camino demands that we no longer walk just for ourselves but that we walk forward to the God who has given all for us. Jesus is the Camino, and in moments of grace, we will be able to see him in every step we take.

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Fr. Peter F. Mallin, OFM Conv., a Conventual Franciscan friar-priest, ordained for 35 years and professed religious for 43 years, lives in residence at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Hermosa Beach, CA. He has served as a priest-chaplain at Providence Little Company Medical Center, Torrance since 1999.

Sources about the Camino are taken from Hiking the Camino: 500 Miles with Jesus by Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, Cincinnati: Franciscan Media, 2009.

A motion picture about the Camino Walk is The Way (2010) starring Martin Sheen, and produced by his son Emilio Esteves.