2025 St. James Celebration: Journey of the Heart
The St. James Celebration recap that follows contains a lot of content, so we’ve provided a table of contents. It includes a reflection from Sara Steig Gradwohl, American Pilgrims former board member, current volunteer, and lifetime member, and opening remarks from Joe Curro, American Pilgrims board chair.
- Sara Steig Gradwohl: Pilgrims Experience “Journeys of the Heart”
- Joe Curro: Welcome Remarks: The Camino is Us
Pilgrims Experience “Journeys of the Heart”
by Sara Steig Gradwohl | Mooresville, IN
There are many types of journeys we can take, but have you taken a journey of the heart?
Camino spirit and community came together in the hearts of 120 joyous pilgrims from 25 states at the second American Pilgrims St. James Celebration, July 24-27, 2025. Volunteers from across the country assisted the South Bend and Hoosiers chapters to organize, host, and welcome pilgrims to the four-day event at St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, IN.
Centered on the theme of “Journeys of the Heart,” the days were filled with daily walks, engaging presentations, meaningful service projects, and communal meals with delicious Spanish cuisine. There were many informative, interactive, and creative presentations including Camino preparation and processing, alternative European routes, the Wisconsin Way, historical luminaries, daily yoga, evening mindfulness circles, a gently used gear swap, and music and entertainment by La Rosa Spanish Dance Theatre, Dave Hall, and our very own Merry Band of Pilgrims.
Presenters included Anne Born, Stacey Wittig, Kathy Kehe, Karin Kiser, Annie O’Neil, Laura Sumner, Marty Murphy, Greg Bennett, Carlos Rivero, Bob McLeaish, Tresha Mandel, Harriet Ross, Nancy Curran and Jim Larocco. There was a Basilica Mass at the University of Notre Dame celebrating the Feast of St. James and a shell ceremony for pilgrims embarking on their first Camino. It was a weekend full of inspiration, connection, Camino spirit, and much more!
The first Celebration took place in July 2021 at St Mary’s College, providing a midsummer opportunity for pilgrims to gather during a lull in the COVID pandemic. It is especially attractive to those who can’t otherwise attend a spring Annual Gathering. The programs are intentionally different: the Celebration focuses more on personal connections and small group discussions, while still including practical pilgrimage sessions.
Pilgrim gatherings like this are wonderful ways for pilgrims from all walks to connect, share stories, and create a bit of the magic that makes the Camino de Santiago so special.
The next opportunity to gather with pilgrims at a nationwide event is during the Annual Gathering planned for April 9-12, 2026, in Hunt, TX. Hope to see y’all there!
“Truly, a journey of the heart. It was an experience I’ll treasure. Meeting current pilgrims; hearing their stories; and sharing laughter, tears, and emotions was extraordinary. This event was masterfully organized and exceptionally carried out by the organizing committee and the South Bend and Hoosiers chapters. It unmistakably touched my heart. My deepest appreciation for the monumental effort in planning, organizing, and executing this extraordinary event. I can’t wait to do my first Camino!“
– Hector J. Arocha | Westfield, IN
Welcome Remarks: The Camino is Us
by Joe Curro, Board Chair, American Pilgrims on the Camino
My name is Joe Curro, and I am the chair of the board of American Pilgrims on the Camino. We are a group of eleven volunteers, who work on behalf of our 3,000 members, other pilgrims, and the pilgrimage routes that we all love. A number of my current and former colleagues are here tonight, and I want to recognize them. Current board members include Martin Peña from California. Martin is the chair of our Gatherings Committee, and he has done a lot of work to make this event a success.
Former board members include: Jackie Saxon from Iowa; and two former colleagues from the great state of Indiana: Sara Gradwohl of Mooresville; and from right here in South Bend, Tom Labuzienski.
Like so many other good things that have happened at American Pilgrims in recent years, this event is Tom’s brainchild. Can we please have a big round of applause for him and his team of volunteers?
Later in the weekend, there will be opportunities to meet other board members, and I hope you’ll say hello and to get to know this incredible group of people.
I am so happy to be back here at St. Mary’s for this year’s St. James Day Celebration… I will never forget coming here four years ago or how nervous I was.
In 2021, we were coming together during a lull in the pandemic. I had been on a few American Pilgrims Zoom meetings, but I basically hadn’t met anyone in person before. It kind of felt like the first day of school.
So, I came here, I was standing in line to check in, and I was greeted by Tom Labuzienski. I had barely gotten more than a few words out of my mouth, when he said to me, “Did anyone ever tell you that you sound just like the Car Talk guys?” If you haven’t picked up on it, I’m from the Boston area. By the way, Boston is in the house. My former colleagues as chapter coordinators, Lisa Morales and Laura Sumner are here, as is Mel Lavenberg, who has probably walked more Caminos than all of us combined. I also met Teri, who ditched us for Illinois!
But I digress… My answer to Tom’s question was, “All the time!” I mean, those guys lived in my town, so it stands to reason, right? “Don’t drive like my brother!” Or maybe I should say for this crowd, “Don’t walk like my brother!”
So, that was Tom’s question to me. I want to ask all of you a different question. It’s one that the rock band The Lovin’ Spoonful made famous in 1965, the year of my birth. And that question is, “Do you believe in magic?”
Anyone? Who here believes in magic? Does anyone believe in Camino magic?
I mean, there certainly seems to be a lot of evidence for it.
For example, was it Camino magic last month, when I was walking with a pilgrim from Dortmund, Germany; when we parted ways in front of a hip, little café in Vilachá; and then when—not ten seconds after the Dortmund man walked away—I learned that Oliver, the café host, was also from Dortmund, Germany? I couldn’t help but think of the Humphrey Bogart line from Casablanca, “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” I’m no Ingrid Bergman, but apparently I’m the Camino’s friend to Dortmunders.
Was it Camino magic when my daughter, Sierra, was looking for a message that had been left by her college roommate and fellow pilgrim, Mila. She looked down at the trailmarker at the foot of the Portomarín steps and spotted a little stone with the message, “Sierra, España 2025, Mela.” Another Casablanca moment! Of all the stones on all the trailmarkers in Galicia, my daughter’s eyes came to rest on this one… and yet… and yet… it was not the message from her friend. Different Sierra. Different Mila. Camino magic? Camino illusion?
Was it Camino magic when, at the end of Mass at the Santiago Cathedral, with the Botafumeiro smoke still heavy in the air, I suddenly heard my name and saw Harriet Ross, an Indianapolis chapter coordinator? And was it Camino magic that Harriet knew to look for me, because she had just by chance been issued her Compostela by the very same Texas volunteer as I had, a woman with whom I, in turn, had coincidentally walked on the Camino de San Antonio Missions with our Texas and Oklahoma chapters in March?
Was it Camino magic when, right after Sarria, I met Tom Lucey, a guy who was born literally a stone’s throw from my house in Arlington, MA, but who grew up right here in South Bend?!?!
Was all of this… Was any of this… Camino magic? Mere coincidence? Casablanca moments? Or something else?
Is it Camino magic when you find a fountain or bar right when you need it? When you practically crawl into an albergue and secure the last bed? Is it Camino magic when you fall and hurt yourself, only to have a pilgrim friend emerge right then and there with both first aid supplies and training?
Rebekah Scott is a great friend of the Camino and pilgrims everywhere. She recently announced that she is pulling back from most Camino activities, due to health challenges, and I ask for your prayers for her.
At our recent Gathering of Pilgrims, Rebekah gave a presentation called, “The Wisdom of the Elders & Ten Commandments for Pilgrims.” You can read her remarks in the Summer 2025 La Concha.
Rebekah’s tenth “commandment” was this: “Realize the miracle that is Grace.” She said:
“The Camino is a gift to the people of the world. It runs on a variety of love called “grace.” Grace is “unmerited favor.” Something nice, without a price tag. Something for nothing. A gift.“
She went on to warn about “idolatry” and to challenge the notion of Camino magic, including the well-worn adage that “the Camino provides.” Rebekah said:
“Do not mistake the Camino de Santiago for God. The Camino is a hiking trail, a historic site of great value, but it is not magic. It will not provide for you. The provision you experience is people, full of grace, showing you just how much God loves you. The Camino is not a property, a product, or a feeling. It’s not a vibe, or even a spirit. The Camino is us. You, and you, and you. And me.”
“It is not magic.” “The Camino is us.” “People, full of grace.”
Colleen O’Toole is a fellow Bostonian, who now lives in Hamilton, Ontario, and is a Canadian Company of Pilgrims leader. Colleen just published a book called Restoring Joy: 40 Days & 40 Nights on the Camino de Santiago. She allows a little more space than Rebekah for Camino magic, but she also relates the experience of Grace on the Camino. Here’s what she writes:
“What I do know is that I had a sudden and complete awareness of my own delusion that I am separate. I had taken the first steps toward my intention—to Restore Joy—and, for simplicity let’s call it the Universe, offered an abundance of blessings at the doorway in recognition. Faith, trust and courage, rewarded immediately, without asking, just for showing up. A gift, given out of love. I didn’t have to walk a hundred miles. I didn’t need to fall to my knees. I just needed to screw up enough courage to find my way to the portal, cross the threshold and allow myself to be met. It was astonishing.
It felt like Grace.”
Both Rebekah and Colleen sum up so beautifully what the Camino means to me. “A gift to the people of the world.” “A gift, given out of love.” Grace.
How many times on the Camino do we say, “¡Gracias!”? When we say, “¡Gracias!” to someone, we are not only saying, “Thank you,” but we are wishing grace, gracia, upon that other person.
The Camino is grace in action. I saw this recently, when a fellow pilgrim at Casa Susi in Trabadelo received the news in the middle of the night that her mother in Australia had died. The pilgrim community immediately enveloped her in love. The hospitalero at her next stop made sure she had a quiet place to process her grief, and drove her up the mountain to the Pilgrims Mass at O Cebreiro, where her fellow walkers—people who were strangers just 24 hours earlier—joined her in loving support.
“It is not magic.” “The Camino is us.” “People, full of grace.” “A gift, given out of love.”
This spirit captures the essence not only of the Camino itself, but it is also what American Pilgrims on the Camino stands for.
Our vision is simple. “We inspire all who seek the spirit of the Camino to connect with the global community of pilgrims.”
It is no accident that we stress interconnectedness and community.
On the Camino, we rely on each other. At American Pilgrims, we rely on each other, too.
We have no employees. We rely on volunteers.
Volunteers contribute time to our board and committees. Volunteers train and serve as hospitaleros and provide a warm welcome to pilgrims at Ribadiso. Volunteers lead our 59 chapters. Volunteers review our grant applications, contribute to and produce La Concha, and moderate our Facebook group.
Volunteers organize our Annual Gatherings of Pilgrims, and volunteers have made this weekend possible.
“It is not magic.” “The Camino is us.” “People, full of grace.” “A gift, given out of love.”
When we are walking on the Camino, we often enjoy incredible views and scenery. But we also know that the truly breathtaking vistas are when you turn around and look at where you have come from.
Whenever I walk, I think of the millions of people who for over a millennium have trodden upon the same path. Likewise, in my work with American Pilgrims, I am ever mindful of everyone who has laid the groundwork for what we do.
The founders who brought together small groups of pilgrims in Virginia and California. The folks who worked to bring hospitalero training to the United States, leading to more than 800 people being trained. The hundreds of people who have served as chapter coordinators, so that their local pilgrims have a way to meet and share their experiences on a regular basis. My predecessors who had the vision to put in place a program of financial support for the Camino that has totaled nearly one million dollars.
Some of those who have contributed to American Pilgrims’ success are no longer with us. In June, we lost a former member of the board, Sam Hull, and the La Concha creative director and a veteran hospitalera, Francine Mastini.
Sam walked his first Camino at the age of 79, and—as an American Pilgrims board member—he advocated for a sustainable financial model for the organization. I met him at my first Gathering, and he was always available with words of encouragement.
Francine was a veritable ball of energy. She brought an intense talent for both visual and written communications to La Concha, which helped to elevate this already-excellent publication. We lost her at far too young an age. At her funeral, the choir sang “Le chant des pèlerins,” commonly known as “Ultreia!” We will sing this together later this weekend.
Sam and Francine were with me in spirit as I walked my fourth Camino last month and as I lit candles in their memory in the Santiago Cathedral. If you would be so kind, I would like to request a moment of silence in memory of Francine Mastini and Sam Hull and other pilgrims we have recently lost.
The sculpture at the top of the Alto del Perdon is inscribed in Spanish with the words, “Donde se cruza el camino del viento con el de las estrellas,” “Where the path of the wind meets that of the stars.” This is a reminder that the Camino de Santiago is not a straight line. It is a crossroads.
It’s a crossroads of cultures. It’s a crossroads of Europe and of the world. The Camino is filled with pilgrims who are at crossroads in their lives… and it is a road for many who are bearing very personal crosses… emotional and spiritual weight, in addition to the physical weight of their backpacks.
My attendance at the St. James Day Celebration here in 2021 was a pivotal moment in my life. After experiencing the sheer joy and peace of that weekend and meeting so many people, I knew that I wanted to be much more involved with American Pilgrims on the Camino. I applied for the board later that summer.
I know that many of you are already quite involved in American Pilgrims. And if you aren’t, I encourage you to get involved. Attend chapter events. Become a member. Submit your Camino reflections to La Concha. Volunteer! We have plenty of opportunities.
We rely on the members of our community to help us fulfill our mission “to foster the enduring tradition of the Camino by supporting its infrastructure, by gathering pilgrims together, and by providing information and encouragement to past and future pilgrims.”
This year, we increased the amount of our standard grant amount for Camino associations and nonprofits. We saw the opening of an albergue in Madrid for international pilgrims arriving or leaving via that city, which was supported by our largest grant yet, and we continued our support for organizations that facilitate Caminos by individuals with physical disabilities.
We made available to our members new educational opportunities through the University of Santiago de Compostela, and we brought pilgrims on our third annual cultural trip, in conjunction with Spanish associations. We brought several new chapters online.
We formalized the production of a monthly email newsletter, to keep members informed of important developments in our organization and on the Camino, and we continued to have engaging virtual national events including our annual Open House in December.
This weekend, we will consider increasing award amounts for the Michael Wyatt Hospitalero Service Grant, and we have been actively working to open up new opportunities for volunteer service for our members both at home and abroad.
We updated our credential and have been streamlining operational processes. We hosted a joint Gathering with our Canadian colleagues in Vancouver, and—thanks to the good offices of our new patron, the Ambassador of Spain to the United States—we had a highly visible presence, at the EU Open House in Washington, DC, talking to well over a thousand people.
This fall, members of the board will advance the three planks of our mission through in-person meetings with partners and stakeholders from throughout Spain. We will have the opportunity to speak and plan directly with representatives of the major Spanish federations, including federations representing disparate regions, and the head of the new Camino Europa Compostela. We will also meet with representatives of the Cathedral, Pilgrims Office, Galician government, Guardia Civil, International Fraternity of the Camino de Santiago, and others who keep the Camino going.
None of this work happens on its own, and none of it happens without the involvement of an awful lot of people beyond the board.
Remember. “It is not magic.” “The Camino is us.” “People, full of grace.” “A gift, given out of love.”
I mentioned earlier that since 2008, American Pilgrims has given almost one million dollars in grants to federations, associations, albergues, and other nonprofit organizations in Spain, Portugal, and France. Grants go toward albergue renovations, bedding, trailmarking, all-terrain wheelchairs, and more.
We noticed that a number of our grant recipients had started to display handmade signs, touting their awards from American Pilgrims. The organization Discamino put our logo on their support van for pilgrims with mobility challenges. We decided to offer placards, which many albergues have put up. These celebrate the hard work of the local people on the ground, while at the same time letting our members and donors see where their contributions are being used.
Recognition and acknowledgement of American Pilgrims’ work comes in novel and unexpected ways.
During the May EU Open House, an older officer of the Guardia Civil approached me and told me they didn’t think that the citizens of any other country but the United States would spend so much time and effort to educate and encourage people to explore someone else’s country. I assured him that there are similar associations and efforts in other countries, but that for us this is a labor of love.
Last month, during a conversation with an hospitalero at the parochial albergue in El Acebo, I mentioned my association with American Pilgrims. He told me that he had volunteered in Foncebadón, and that he knew we had paid for a new roof at the parochial albergue there.
And when I was checking in at Astorga, it turned out that the hospitalera was my counterpart from China, the president of the Camino association there. She wanted to learn more about our website and share experiences.
We on the board see ourselves as goodwill ambassadors, and we encourage this spirit in all American pilgrims, whether they are embarking on pilgrimage or volunteering to help others.
“It is not magic.” “The Camino is us.” “People, full of grace.” “A gift, given out of love.”
I returned from my most recent Camino on June 27. Two days later, I was sitting in my local parish church.
One of the hymns was “Brother, Sister, Let Me Serve You.” The second verse of this hymn spoke directly to me:
We are pilgrims on a journey,
Fellow trav’llers on the road;
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load.
Brothers, sisters, pilgrims, I am so glad that we are fellow travelers on the road. Thank you for being with us this weekend and for sharing with us the grace of your presence.
Over the next few days, I expect we will laugh and cry, dance and sing, walk and serve, learn and pray. We will brave heat and rain and celebrate that Son of Thunder St. James the Great and the gift of love he inspired in the Camino de Santiago and all of us.
¡Buen Camino! Ultreia!
