Camino de Santiago: A Journey for the Body, Mind, and Soul “A pilgrimage across northern Spain to the sanctuary at Santiago de Compostela is the finest journey in Spain,” wrote Pulitzer Prize winner, James Michener, in his non-fiction classic Iberia. The Camino de Santiago: At first it was hard to wrap my mind around taking six weeks to walk 500 miles from France through Spain, along a ... Read Full Article
Assisi, Italy: A Place of Pilgrimage
St. Francis, born in 1181 to a wealthy silk merchant and his wife, was definitely no saint to begin with. He partied and drank with his friends and generally got into trouble. Even after being imprisoned for a year during the war between Assisi and Perugia, he returned to his extravagant ways. But then, the story goes, he met a beggar and was so struck by the misery he saw that he gave ... Read Full Article
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer for the Gypsies’ Pilgrimage
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, on the coast of southwestern France, is a village steeped in legend, history, and tradition that lives on today. Gypsies (Gitanes) from all over Europe gather here every spring on a pilgrimage – the Pélerinage des Gitanes – to honor their saint, Sarah. One legend (there are many) says that close to 20 centuries ago, a boat came ashore here on the Rhone River delta. ... Read Full Article