19 Comments
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Beverly De Soto's avatar

A Spanish priest brought me to Covadonga in 2015. What an astonishing place! Virtually unknown outside of Spain. Great article!

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Fr. José Miguel Marqués Campo's avatar

It was my pleasure, Ma’am.

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Fr. Pablo Ormazabal Albistur's avatar

Thank you for your superb chronicle!

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Peter Kwasniewski's avatar

You're welcome. It was a pleasure to meet you, Father!

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Jeffrey Inferrera's avatar

Dr. K, thank you for all the hard work, giving six lectures in six different cities in Spain, back to back, and then doing the three day Pilgrimage to Covadonga, probably with a good dose of jet lag during and/or after. So you are smart and TOUGH too! King Pelayo would be proud.

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Ann's avatar

Thank you enjoyed every word and every picture! At 89 years old, I’m on the uphill of my pilgrimage. thankful to have the opportunity to attend the traditional Latin mass on Sundays. we are not allowed to advertise it, but it grows in spite of restrictions Deo Gracias!

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Shannon Rose's avatar

Wonderful account with gorgeous photos. Than you for sharing your pilgrimage with us!

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Denise Trull's avatar

Sigh. My heart was indeed burning within me just reading this post and poring over the photos! Thank you!!

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Kate's avatar

Not sure how to be discreet about this, but I'm wondering how it was to do this pilgrimage (or Chartres) as not the youngest one on the route? I'd like to do one of these pilgrimages, but I'm coming to this a bit late on my own pilgrimage, and maybe my efforts are better directed elsewhere...

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Peter Kwasniewski's avatar

I was a bit anxious about how I would do on such a demanding walk. I prepared for it pretty well by going on a lot of long (7-mile, 9-mile) walks at home, and also some intermittent fasting brought down my weight by some pounds. As a 54-year-old, I would say that it felt pretty doable overall, although there were moments each day when it was truly very hard to put one foot in front of the other. The nice thing about all these pilgrimages modeled after Chartres is that they have periodic stations where people who can't go any further can stop, and be driven to the evening's campsite. No one is judgmental about it; the attitude is, you've done what you can, good for you! They also have a "family route" where the distance is about half of the whole, and a good number of people choose this up-front.

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Annette Petrone's avatar

Thank YOU, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski! This was such a tour for us, gorgeous in its countryside, gorgeous in its faithful throng of believers! Mother Mary of Covadonga, pray for us!

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Sherry's avatar

What a gift, to share your experience and photos! My Camino de Santiago a decade ago with a secular company, while memorable and inspiring, was sorely lacking in Catholicity. Thank you!

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Jeron Smith's avatar

This was a fantastic read and the pictures much appreciated. Thank you! I could never afford a European pilgrimage, but this renews my interest and desire to do the Three Hearts Pilgrimage in OK next year.

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Fr. José Miguel Marqués Campo's avatar

Thank you, dear Dr. Kwasniewski! A captivating account! A real pleasure to have finally met you in person!

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Karine's avatar

That looked absolutely wonderful! What a tremendous experience!

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Mark Marshall's avatar

Thank you for this report of such a glorious time.

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Donald Lippert's avatar

You should do more singing on your posts! Thanks Dr K.

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Stephen's avatar

Loved this retell. Sorry to hear that the Prison Officers of Tradition were on duty, however I hope it gave them some pause for reflection on the part they are playing in the great injustice of our time.

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Andrea Madrigal's avatar

Thank you for relating to us all that you lived in those three days so thoroughly!

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