Excerpts from The Pilgrimage, by Paulo Coelho, 1995, published by HarperCollins
Just as the Muslim tradition requires that all members of the faith, at least once in their life, make the same pilgrimage that Muhammad made from Mecca to Medina, so Christians in the first millennium considered three routes to be sacred. Each of them offered a series of blessings and indulgences to those who traveled its length.
The first led to the tomb of Saint Peter in Rome; its travelers, who were called wanderers, took the cross as their symbol.
The second led to the Holy Sepulcher of Christ in Jerusalem; those who took this road were called Palmists, since they had as their symbol the palm branches with which Jesus was greeted when he entered that city.
There was a third road, which led to the mortal remains of the apostle, SanTiago – Saint James in English, Jacques in French, Giacomo in Italian, Jacob in Latin. James, son of Zebedee and Salome was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, and traditionally considered the first apostle to be martyred, in 44A.D.
The site where St. James was buried came to be known as Compostela – the star field – and there a city had arisen that drew travelers from every part of the Christian world.
These travelers visiting the shrine of St James in Santiago in Spain were called pilgrims, and their symbol was the scallop shell.
I’m often asked why I chose to walk the Road to Santiago.
The person who asks this most often, is me.
I am not Catholic. I have broken ties with the Protestant tradition I was born into before I was 16 years old. I’m more likely to enjoy chanting in a temple with Buddhist monks than listening to a church choir. You will rather find me celebrating pagan festivals according to the Wheel of the Year than observing any of the Holy days on the Christian calendar.
So why did I choose to walk the Camino de Compostela – the strange Road to Santiago?
I think the short (and most honest) answer is that I did not choose to walk the Camino.
Daily Braveries 