Holy Cross College students’ 120km pilgrimage experience
25 May 2017
On 14 April (Good Friday), a group of students and staff taking part in the annual Holy Cross College (HCC) pilgrimage walked 120 kilometres of the ancient pilgrimage route, the Spanish Camino de Santiago, from Tui to Santiago de Compostela.
Pilgrimage is an important faith practice at HCC that students from Kindergarten to Year 12 participate in each year. The first HCC Camino De Santiago pilgrimage took place in 2014 to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of Dom Rosendo Salvado. Students in Year 7 commence the Camino Salvado in Subiaco in Year 7, and then take a 200km walk into New Norcia as part of their Year 12 retreat. The College hopes to offer the experience of the Spanish Camino to senior students every couple of years.
HCC has a strong link with the Benedictine community of New Norcia. Dom Rosendo Salvado was born in Tui and trained in the San Martin’s, the Benedictine Monastery in Santiago de Compostela. The HCC pilgrims were privileged to make their journey through Holy Week, to experience the liturgies and processions in the Spanish tradition. On Easter Sunday, the pilgrims also got to experience the amazing swinging of the Botafumeiro, the great incense burner, in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral.
Principal Mandy Connor said “It was a wonderful experience for students and staff to walk for six days, to encounter God, themselves other pilgrims and nature to reflect on their experiences”.
Along the Way, pilgrims were greeted by locals with Buen Camino, meaning ‘good journey’. For the Holy Cross 2017 Camino de Santiago pilgrims, it was indeed a good journey
