Jamie MacGuire, Managing Editor US Catholic Herald.
Where would you go?
Santiago de Compostela, the city of my namesake, St James. Tradition says the apostle preached in northern Spain and, after his martyrdom in Jerusalem by Herod, his remains were returned by boat there to Galicia, where Europe’s largest pilgrimage route grew up over the succeeding centuries.
Would you make any special stops?
Finisterre, 60 miles west on the Spanish coast, with its gorgeous beaches and hip resorts.
You can transplant your favourite bar or restaurant on the route. What is it?
The Spanish Paradores system is superb and obviates any such need. The parador in Santiago, for example, is just across the square from the cathedral and was an 18th-century Foundling Hospital, now splendidly restored. But if that’s not good enough, PJ Clarke’s in Midtown Manhattan.
Would you camp under the stars, or find a church to sleep in?
My Outward Bound trekking decades were great fun, but entering my eighth decade, I fear they are behind me. However, many of the lodgings along the Camino are converted convents and monasteries. Still, a pool to swim in after the day’s walk and before Mass and supper adds greatly to the amenities, such as the lovely one at Caldas de Reis.
Who would you travel with?
Herald colleagues are a humorous and quirky lot, but along the Camino one encounters other marvellous characters too – Galician piper ladies, Eastern European nuns, bikers, horseback riders, and even marathon runners, all saluting “Buen Camino” as they pass. One of our company was an earnest recent convert who burst into tears when a rather cross Spanish monsignor insisted on pressing the Eucharist into her palm when she extended her tongue to receive it in the cathedral on the Feast of St James, an incident dubbed “Wafergate” forever after.
Which books would you take with you
A DVD of Martin Sheen’s The Way would be a plus, supplemented by James Boswell’s Life of Samuel Johnson. For such a devout Anglican, the ever-quotable doctor had some surprisingly positive views on Roman Catholicism.
What Bible or religious verse would you ponder as you walked?
“Just a closer walk with Thee.”
What is your go-to prayer?
Salve Regina. Sung at Compline at my Benedictine school over half a century ago, it has never left me.
You’re allowed one luxury in your bag.
Ice cream.
What would you miss most about ordinary life?
Michelle, my children and grandchildren.
