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  • Users: J.Patrick
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  1. J.Patrick

    LIVE from the Camino Practical observations from my October 2023 Via Francigena,

    Some well-meant observations, as I sit in the airport heading homeward, very open to your differing perspectives, from my southernmost Liguria to Tuscany to Lazio to Rome stages of the VF pilgrimage: Contrary to warnings received from travel books, while credit cards were not universally...
  2. J.Patrick

    Massa - Italy

    What a lovely day! My feet hurt after 18.5 miles, yes, but I got to take my first step to Rome, find my first way sign, get lost— though only briefly, see the non-scenic side of Italy, notice that Italian wineries look a lot like those in California (who is copying whom?) and wander through...
    • J.Patrick
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    • Replies: 1
    • Camino de Santiago Forum: Europe
  3. J.Patrick

    LIVE from the Camino Patrick’s Pilgrimage (VF)

    Arrived in Sarzana today, after taking the train from Pisa. It was pleasant, a little balmy. I was able to get my first timbro at the Cathedral of our Lady of the, Assumption. The people in town were really helpful in finding the priest who, with very good will, interrupted his afternoon to walk...
  4. J.Patrick

    Sellos on the Francigena

    On the Caminos I’ve done I’ve loved the whole process of getting stamps / sellos, marking the places, the passage of time, the walking of miles. I’ve felt at home with it and have made a shrine of them at home. is there a culture of sellos / stamps on the Francigena? Will anyone know what I’m...
  5. J.Patrick

    Some questions (paving, language, guides)

    I will be walking from just north of Lucca to Rome this October, and I have some questions for anyone who has walked this segment of the Francigena. -- Thank you for your time! 1. What is the path like? Mosty paved? Mostly dirt roads? Mostly small dirt paths? In the rain is it hard-packed or...
  6. J.Patrick

    Delayed pleasures

    I had planned, back in late 2019, to walk from Lucca to Rome on the Francigena in May of 2020. I had already walked two caminos, a two week venture from Porto back in 2015 with a friend, and then a six week journey on the Norte from Hendaye, France, by myself but never alone. Needless to say...
  7. J.Patrick

    Pilgrim Heart / pilgrimheart.org

    J.Patrick submitted a new resource: Pilgrim Heart / pilgrimheart.org - If you are seeking to connect your faith to preparing for and walking the Camino and for the life th Read more about this resource...
  8. J.Patrick

    Pilgrimage as Way of Life

    I was amused, shortly after my last Camino, when I saw a yellow arrow on a street, not in Spain, and felt a subconscious compulsion to turn and follow it. There is a part of me that always wants to be following those arrows and scallops, to live on pilgrimage. Life, though, intrudes. I'm a...
  9. J.Patrick

    Flashbacks

    Every now and then, there’s a moment when I’m overwhelmed by the emotions of my Caminos. Sometimes it happens because of music. I didn’t listen to music while I walked. Only when I was resting. And yet, one of my pilgrimage playlists rips me right back to my time in Spain. Sometime is it has to...
  10. J.Patrick

    Rebirth

    Back in 2013 the terrible Camarillo Springs fire ravaged the Santa Monica Mountains, just south east of my home. Most everything was reduced to dust and ashes, and the trees were blackened, leafless and seemed dead. I was walking there this last week, doing a 7 mile training walk for the...
  11. J.Patrick

    A Catholic on the Camino

    I read with dismay of a peregrino's encounters with some "religious" sorts. On my camino's, as a Catholic priest, it delights me to encounter the many reasons people have for the journey. How lovely that those of us from different and no spiritual backgrounds can share in the camino together...
  12. J.Patrick

    Roads or trails?

    I'm looking a year ahead to walking the Via Francigena from Lucca to Rome, and wondering what to expect: road walking or trails? I've done the Northern Camino, which had a mixture of both, and was happy regardless, but did prefer to be off the busy highways. Thank you in advance!
  13. J.Patrick

    How does the Francigena differ?

    I've had the chance to do the Portugues, Northern and Primitivo (never did the Frances), so I have a strong sense of the Spanish experience of pilgrimage. Could I ask those who have done any of the Spanish pilgrimages and the Francigena to share how they differ, how they are similar, etc...
  14. J.Patrick

    Online Camino Presentation

    Hi friends, I gave a talk at my parish about my camino experiences as a Catholic priest on the Camino. It was recorded and I’d like to offer it to anyone considering the Camino. It can be found at All the best, and warm thanks to all on this forum who helped me make my own preparations for...
  15. J.Patrick

    Carrying stones...

    My next Camino is the Norte, breaking off on the Primitivo. I have my own reason for carrying a heart shaped stone from the Mohave Desert, a gift from my brother. My question is, in the absence of an iron cross on the Norte, where to leave it in an intentional kind of special way. I was...
  16. J.Patrick

    Pyrenees?

    I'm finding conflicting info on the internet: Is the high path from Irun to San Sebastián / Donastia in the Pyrenees? some other range? I'd like to accurately tell my brother what my plan is as I encourage him to join me next August. Thanks in advance.
  17. J.Patrick

    Places to pause on the Camino del Norte

    I'm doing some advanced planning on my camino next year. I have sufficient time to rest along the way, taking a day every week or so to stop and smell the roses, or experience the people, place, etc., and to let knees and hips recover. Does anyone who has done the northern have suggestions of...
  18. J.Patrick

    Haunted by the Camino...in a good way

    Two years ago I walked the Camino Portuguese, beginning in Porto, with a priest friend of mine. Over the days, we spoke of many things: our families and friends, the relationships we have with God, our parishioners (I'm a priest, too) and their needs, our visions of Church and our ministry...

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