Broken pilgrim memorial

[sillydoll]

If anyone knows the family of Manfred Kress Friedrich, please can you let them know that his memorial near Bercianos has broken up. These two photographs were taken in 2007 and in 2012.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Sil, do you remember.. this is beyond Bercianos, before El Burgo? If the weather is kind, and me and Tyrrek and the Portuguese get finished cleaning Palencia in time, maybe we can have a look at what needs to be done over there.

 

[tyrrek]

Yes, hopefully we can get it looking respectable, at least.

Buen Camino!

 

[sillydoll]

Looking at my sequence of photographs, it is before Bercianos.
The memorium on my blog says: "Manfred Kress , German cyclist pilgrim 60, died on June 9, 1998 at Camino Real Bercianos (Leon).
It would be such a pity if it was left in the state its in. I was hoping that some of our German forum members might be able to trace his family or post this on a German forum (if there is one).

 

[FatmaG]

Sil,
I will forward your information on two German boards, let's see whether they can help.
FatmaG

 

[danadoe]

Yes, it is definitely only a bit BEFORE arriving at BERCIANOS.
I ALWAYS touches a pilgrim when passing such a memorial site.
There are already many on this 778 km trail.
I stop to pray at the sites and jot down the names. Then, at the Saint's tomb, I read my list of On-Camino_Ceased Pilgrims.

I AM sure that any bricklayer or any willing hand in Bercianos would help put up the Cross again.
I'm definitely sure. Spaniards DO have a great heart for such incidents.
You will be lucky.

Buen Camino,
danadoe

 

[Telluridewalker]

Does anyone know what "S.E.P." stands for on the memorial? I couldn't find it in a web search.

 

[tyrrek]

Does anyone know what "S.E.P." stands for on the memorial? I couldn't find it in a web search.

I assumed RIP, or rest/sleep in peace as in English. Buen Camino!

 

[FatmaG]

Hallo Mitpilgerer,

ich habe die St. Jakobusbruderschaft in Trier angemailt und die Info weitergegeben, Herr Kress stammte damals aus Trier.

Allzeit Buen Camino, Michael

in English: "I sent a mail to the confratry of Saint James in Trier and relayed the information, Mr. Kress came originally from Trier."

Wouldn't it be great if they find his family - thanks to Sil!

PS http://193114.forumromanum.com/member/f ... ilger.html

 

[tyrrek]

Thanks to you FatmaG. We'll do our best to tidy it up in the meantime if we have the chance to do so. Buen Camino!

 

[sillydoll]

Fatma - Jenny sent me the photograph of the broken memorial and asked if I had that one on my list. I remembered the name having recently done a post on memorials for my blog. I compared photographs and saw that his memorial was in good shape two years ago.
So thanks to Jenny as well.

 

[RENSHAW]

I see so much vandalism along the way ; it is beyond me. I noticed this particular memorial in the begining of November and tried to convince myself that a tractor perhaps caused it.
Just on the the outskirts of Condes or Sahagun is a huge sandstone Palencia marker with a map and somehow , the top had been knocked off - I can only imagine that bulldozer must have been used.
Someone had also smashed up one of those nice sturdy benches next to the path just after Belerado. :? :x

 

[jennysa]

Fatma - Jenny sent me the photograph of the broken memorial and asked if I had that one on my list. I remembered the name having recently done a post on memorials for my blog. I compared photographs and saw that his memorial was in good shape two years ago.
So thanks to Jenny as well.

Syl's blog on memorials that sparked an interest in fallen pilgrims, so I stopped to pay my respects and photograph each one along the way on my Camino in October and stopped to pay my respects. This one is just before Bercianos and it is such shame to see it in this state. There were also many others along the way that have not stood the test of time.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

It´s not always vandalism. In this case I think it was poor construction from the get-go. Memorials only have to last as long as the living relatives do. And if the relatives live in faraway Germany, why go to great lengths or quality?

I´ve been to a few funerals lately in the area, and the low-quality construction is remarkable.

 

[ffp13]

This topic has reminded me of a question/ thought that I has previously come to mind, especially after seeing a memorial, some as grand as Herr Kress or as simple as Arn Skov Schmidt or the pile of pine cones for a Japanese pilgrim.

The thought /question that came to mind are:

Is their passing acknowledged at the pilgrims mass?

Are they posthumously granted a Compestalla even though the did not complete their pilgrimage ?

Are their memorials like those we see on the roadside for car accident victims, not authorised but tolerated?

I always stop at each memorial, read the details of the pilgrim and notes left by other pilgrims, and share a quiet moment to reflect on their Camino and at the same time my own. For me it is a humbling experience more so than most other experiences I have on My Way.

The pilgrims that unfortunately pass away on the Camino are given thought, respect and prayed for almost everyday of the year. The most that the rest of can hope for when depart is to be remembered on special days of the year eg birthday Christmas etc. and over a few years that starts to fade.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

This topic has reminded me of a question/ thought that I has previously come to mind, especially after seeing a memorial, some as grand as Herr Kress or as simple as Arn Skov Schmidt or the pile of pine cones for a Japanese pilgrim.

The thought /question that came to mind are:

Is their passing acknowledged at the pilgrims mass?

Are they posthumously granted a Compestalla even though the did not complete their pilgrimage ?

Are their memorials like those we see on the roadside for car accident victims, not authorised but tolerated?

I always stop at each memorial, read the details of the pilgrim and notes left by other pilgrims, and share a quiet moment to reflect on their Camino and at the same time my own. For me it is a humbling experience more so than most other experiences I have on My Way.

The pilgrims that unfortunately pass away on the Camino are given thought, respect and prayed for almost everyday of the year. The most that the rest of can hope for when depart is to be remembered on special days of the year eg birthday Christmas etc. and over a few years that starts to fade.

Hola

You raise some very interesting points some of which I have been writing abut recently here:

http://www.johnniewalker-santiago.blogs ... em-up.html

I can well understand the motives of families who wish to place physical memorials at the point on the camino where a pilgrim has died. But I think there are very significant issues with this - you mention some of them - getting permission for example. However for me the biggest is how these memorials will be maintained for the future and not allowed to disintegrate to the stage where they are an embarrassment to the person's memory rather than a dignified memorial. It raises the question whether such memorials should be there at all - I can't think of any other circumstance where memorials can be erected at the exact spot where people die?

Problems of maintenance and whether they are appropriate at all apart there is a question as to how the death of a pilgrim on Camino is recognised by the wider pilgrims community. It seems that this is very disjointed. The country associations sometimes record deaths in their bulletins, the Spanish Federation publish a list on their website and of course our own Sil did a marvellous job bringing together various incomplete lists. But for the moment there is no central list or system.

To answer you specific points:

If the Pilgrims' Office is notified then the next Pilgrims' Mass will be said in honour of the person who has died and this is announced at the very beginning of the Mass. However we are not always informed when pilgrims die.

A Memorial Compostela can be issued on request to friends or relatives in the name of the pilgrim who has died on their way to Santiago. Again many people do not know this is available.

As well as the issues with Camino Memorials rehearsed above I also think there is a problem with accessiblility for friends and relatives. How do relatives visit a monument places at the point a person died if it is 10 kms along the camino and no where near transport?

At the moment there is a campaign to persuade the Cathedral in Santiago to hold a Book of Remembrance into which would be inscribed the names and place of origin of pilgrims who die on the way to Santiago. It is hoped this Book would be on display in a side chapel or in the Corticela, the Pilgrims Chapel, so that relatives and pilgrims could visit and remember in a prayerful space. The Book of Remembrance could also be brought to the High Altar during the annual Mass for the Dead held in the cathedral as well as the Pilgrims' Mass being said in the name of the person who died. However this may take some time to achieve as persuading a medieval cathedral to start something not started in medieval times requires...patience!

 

[sillydoll]

Johnny, I have seen constructed memorials wherever I have travelled, especially roadside shrines eretced exactly where the person died. We saw them through France when I walked from Paris and all along the Via francigena, hundreds in Greece. Some are just a cross with a name, others are memorial stones and many are little 'altars' with a photograph of the person and space to add flowers.
Roadside memorials are a problem for many countries (just Google Roadside memorials Scotland, or Roadside memorials Ireland) and you'll see that they all face the same problem.

 

[ffp13]

At the moment there is a campaign to persuade the Cathedral in Santiago to hold a Book of Remembrance into which would be inscribed the names and place of origin of pilgrims who die on the way to Santiago. It is hoped this Book would be on display in a side chapel or in the Corticella, the Pilgrims Chapel, so that relatives and pilgrims could visit and remember in a prayerful space. The Book of Remembrance could also be brought to the High Altar during the annual Mass for the Dead held in the cathedral as well as the Pilgrims' Mass being said in the name of the person who died. However this may take some time to achieve as persuading a medieval cathedral to start something not started in medieval times requires...patience!

An interesting concept which I would support, but I am guessing that there are little if any avenues to prosecute such a campaign. Places for remembrance within cathedrals are only available to the rich and powerful not poor insignificant pilgrims.

 

[FatmaG]

Concerning Mr Kress, in another board an answer:

Morgen ist Info-Abend und Stammtisch der Jakobusbruderschaft in Trier. Manfred Hess hatte ja wohl Beziehungen zu diesem Umfeld ( die Wiedergründung der Bruderschaft war zum Zeitpunkt seines Todes noch nicht erfolgt).
Ich werde selber nicht teilnehmen können, aber ich habe dem Brudermeister einen entsprechenden link gesandt.

To resume: they try to find the family via the association.
Thanks to Jenny and Sil
If there are news, I will keep you informed!

As to the SIP, the German pilgrim proposes
"Sosiega en paz"

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Johnny, I have seen constructed memorials wherever I have travelled, especially roadside shrines eretced exactly where the person died. We saw them through France when I walked from Paris and all along the Via francigena, hundreds in Greece. Some are just a cross with a name, others are memorial stones and many are little 'altars' with a photograph of the person and space to add flowers.
Roadside memorials are a problem for many countries (just Google Roadside memorials Scotland, or Roadside memorials Ireland) and you'll see that they all face the same problem.

Sorry, I didn't explain myself properly.Of course there are many roadside memorials the vast majority of which fade with time. What I meant was the erection (and lack of maintenance) of the kind of monuments usually only seen in graveyards where the person is buried.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

An interesting concept which I would support, but I am guessing that there are little if any avenues to prosecute such a campaign. Places for remembrance within cathedrals are only available to the rich and powerful not poor insignificant pilgrims.

I understand your sentiments but the Cathedral in Santiago is a pilgrim cathedral - the Chapel of the Corticela is the pilgrim's church - where pilgrims are entitled to get married or have their babies baptised, marriage vows renewed etc. It could also be the place to remember pilgrims who have died on the Way.

 

[tyrrek]

Sounds like a great idea to me. Buen Camino!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

There is a lot of vandalized art along the camino. There are several cemetery crosses by the path leaving El Burgo Ranero. It only takes one vandal. I note that the stackers have indulged themselves by putting stones on the broken memorial, making it about themselves rather than the deceased! That is the same ego that is at the core of vandalism, perhaps with a bit less anger. "Notice me. I was here."

 

[ffp13]

I note that the stackers have indulged themselves .
"

What is the reason if any behind the staking of stones along the Camino? I've seen it almost everywhere but I don't understand it, is it just another pagan symbol?

 

[lovingkindness]

...What is the reason if any behind the staking of stones along the Camino? .....is it just another pagan symbol?

Hello ffp13, there are many reasons why people stack stones: art, poetic feeling, an act of contemplation, spirituality etc etc....... When I see pebbles left at grave stones I am reminded of a Jewish traditon...

Why are stones laid on Jewish graves?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070605190353AAsEhkk

''Exactly why I don't think is known. However, I've put a few links below that offer these explanations:

1. When the tradition started, grave monuments were mounds of stones. Visitors added stones to "the mound" to show we are never finished building the monument to the deceased.

2. to tell the visitors that followed that others had also visited the grave.

3. Symbolically, it suggests the continuing presence of love and memory which are as strong and enduring as a rock. And we know that one name for God is "The Rock of Israel." So the rock is a reminder of the presence of the Rock, Whose love truly is stronger than death.

4. It is a custom in all of Jewish tradition, not just at the Extermination camps. It is a sign of respect for the dead. It stems from the symbolism of making sure the burial site is noted by a stone marker. While adding a small stone doesn't really add a permanent marking to the site, it has evolved that this is the way an individual indicates participation in the process of marking a grave.

5. It is customary, before leaving the gravesite, to place a small stone on the marker to indicate that someone has visited the grave. This tradition may also reflect the biblical practice of marking the grave with a pile of stones. Or, it may be the end result of the custom of writing notes to the deceased and pushing them into crevices in the headstone just as notes are pushed into the Western Wall in Jerusalem. When no crevice could be found, the note was weighted down with a stone. In time, the paper disintegrated or blew away leaving only the stone. Thus, some began to think that the leaving of a stone was the custom... and so it became the custom.

6. There is a belief, with roots in the Talmud, that souls continue to dwell for a while in the graves in which they are placed. In the Eastern European folk imagination, these souls -- even those that were benign in life -- can take on a certain terror in death. The stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer and the plays of the Yiddish theatre, rich in the mythology of Eastern European Jewry, are filled with these types of hauntings: souls who returned, for whatever reason, to the world of the living.
The practice of leaving stones atop a grave can be explained as a response to these beliefs. More than a simple marker of one's visit, stones on the grave are the means by which the living help souls remain where they belong -- in the grave where they do no haunting.

Another beautiful answer to the stones on graves question takes its cue from the inscription on many gravestones: the five-letter Hebrew abbreviation taf, nun, tsadi, bet, hey, which stands for "teheye nishmato tsrurah b'tsror haChayyim." This phrase is usually translated as "May his soul be bound up in the bounds of eternal life" -- a phrase wishing for eternal life for the departed.

Yet tsror (the fourth word of the Hebrew phrase) can also be translated as "pebble." Suddenly, the phrase takes on a more nuanced meaning, based on the historical significance of pebbles.

7. In ancient times, shepherds needed a system to keep track of their flocks. On some days, they would go out to pasture with a flock of thirty; on other days a flock of ten; the third day with fifty. As memory was an unreliable way of keeping tabs on the number of the flock that day, the shepherd would carry a sling over his shoulder, and in it keep the number of tsror, pebbles, that corresponded to the number in his flock. That way he could have an accurate daily count.

When we place stones on the grave, and inscribe the motto above on the stone, we are asking God to keep the departed's soul in God's sling. Among all the souls whom God has to watch over, we wish to add the name, the "pebble" of the soul of our departed.''

 

[ffp13]

Thank you lovingkindness, the explanation provided is more positive than the previous suggestion that the act stacking stones was "That is the same ego that is at the core of vandalism"

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Why are stones laid on Jewish graves?
I am not sure about the reason behind this....i thought it had to do with the symbolism of stones lasting forever and that being a better way to remember someone...is there someone with a clear explanation?

I doubt that is the source of stacking along the Camino -- too few Jews, I suspect. More likely the Cruz de Ferro is the inspiration. The symbolism of bringing a stone from home and leaving it at the cross is far different from picking up a piece of road gravel and putting it on a mojone or a vandalized memorial. There are far fewer stacked stones on the other routes (at least the last 100 km of the other routes).

Another answer to the Yahoo-asked question:

It is difficult to know exactly when and why the custom originated and whether it is strictly Jewish. I personally suspect that this custom arose out of the time (possible Roman or earlier) when people - not all Jews - would weigh down the grave or seal the tomb with a stone in order to: (1) prevent anyone including animals from harming the body and (2) prevent an evil spirit from escaping out to harm us.

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

What is the reason if any behind the staking of stones along the Camino? I've seen it almost everywhere but I don't understand it, is it just another pagan symbol?

No, it's not pagan! Even in England, some of the long walks and mountain tracks are marked with cairns - piles of stones. They are way markers. Walkers traditionally add a stone to a cairn, to keep it in existence. They confirm - like a yellow arrow - that you're on the right track.

Then, quite separately, there is the tradition of leaving a stone at the Iron Cross [or at some other point - even throwing them into the sea at Finisterre]. They are symbolic of your sins - you 'throw away your sins' and start afresh. It's a form of [hopefully] forgiveness for the past, and a new beginning. Again, that has been a tradition for centuries, many pilgrims taking a sin-stone with them all the way from 'home' to their destination.

Buen camino!
Stephen.
http://www.calig.co.uk/camino_de_santiago.htm

 

[ivar]

Posting on behalf of Rebekah...

PS. Click the photo to see it full size.
Ivar

 

[Rebekah Scott]

we reset the stones and put steel rods inside, used silicone pegamento to gom it all together. Engineering, tools, and common sense provided by Bruno, from Albergue San Bruno in Moratinos (who is a mechanical engineer in real life.) Muscle provided by our friend Tyrrek (Keith). I just drove the car, and bossed everyone around.

This project part of the Palencia Camino Cleanup 2012, even though it´s in Leon province...

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Wonderful - well done to all concerned...keep driving and bossing Reb!

 

[Abbeydore]

Yes Well Done Bossy Boots Reb & Keith(the muscle) Tyrrek,
Thought you might have put all the stones back :wink:
David

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I put one stone on, because I am an egotist.
I thought of Falcon when I did it, so maybe it´s OK.

 

[ffp13]

we reset the stones and put steel rods inside, used silicone pegamento to gom it all together. Engineering, tools, and common sense provided by Bruno, from Albergue San Bruno in Moratinos (who is a mechanical engineer in real life.) Muscle provided by our friend Tyrrek (Keith). I just drove the car, and bossed everyone around.

This project part of the Palencia Camino Cleanup 2012, even though it´s in Leon province...

 

[Deleted member 3000]

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks to Reb and co. for all the hard camino work. You do us proud!

I just wanted to note that if you go to Reb's blog, it's just as easy to make a donation to her as it is to donate to Ivar and the forum. Both worthy causes in my opinion, and tis the season...

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[RENSHAW]

I put one stone on, because I am an egotist.
I thought of Falcon when I did it, so maybe it´s OK.

Did you take any of the peaceful dogs with you?

 

[danadoe]

Hi Reb,
Your deal is real CAMINO SPIRIT or Camino Magic :arrow: !!!
We are sort of a family and it is as if what you've done, you've done it for our whole Camino family.
Thanks and God bless you!

 

[sillydoll]

Wonderful work Reb.

I did notice that Santiago has lost it's 'T'. :?

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Wonderful work Reb. I did notice that Santiago has lost it's 'T'. :?

I'm sure he won't mind!

 

[CaminoJohn]

Thanks for all your work Rebekah! I also read your blog post..what a remarkable day! Your life there clearly demonstrates that the Meseta is not nearly as dull as a lot of pilgrims think! :shock:

 

[Rebekah Scott]

John, IMHO, the meseta is the heart of the camino, as Santiago de Compostela is the soul. You don´t get one without the other. The meseta is a demanding place. It is still, and it demands stillness -- something counterintuitive to many. Its charms are not apparent to the shallow and easily distracted, but it pays back over time, with a Zen intensity.

I am not the spirit of anything but me. I am lucky enough to do the things any of you would do if you lived here and had the same opportunities.

Reb.

 

[tyrrek]

John, IMHO, the meseta is the heart of the camino, as Santiago de Compostela is the soul.

I´d put it the other way round. Santiago is the heart and the Meseta is the soul. That´s where you see the unexpected beauty.

Back to topic, Bruno from the albergue at Moratinos was a total star in sharing his skills to get that monument looking respectable again, as of course was Reb for organising it all.

Buen Camino!

 

[tyrrek]

Wonderful work Reb.

I did notice that Santiago has lost it's 'T'. :?

I think Reb knows a good place to go in Sahagun for a ´T´.

Buen Camino!

 

[Anniesantiago]

San Iago is perfectly correct!

Good on you, Reb! and all those who helped you.
Thanks!

 

[CaminoJohn]

John, IMHO, the meseta is the heart of the camino, as Santiago de Compostela is the soul. You don´t get one without the other. The meseta is a demanding place. It is still, and it demands stillness -- something counterintuitive to many. Its charms are not apparent to the shallow and easily distracted, but it pays back over time, with a Zen intensity.
Reb.

I agree Reb! I live among the mesas, mountains, and plains of New Mexico. The meseta feels like home to me, from the wide clear blue skies right down to the adobes!

 

[jennysa]

John, IMHO, the meseta is the heart of the camino, as Santiago de Compostela is the soul. You don´t get one without the other. The meseta is a demanding place. It is still, and it demands stillness -- something counterintuitive to many. Its charms are not apparent to the shallow and easily distracted, but it pays back over time, with a Zen intensity.

I am not the spirit of anything but me. I am lucky enough to do the things any of you would do if you lived here and had the same opportunities.

Reb.

I loved the Meseta and found it very captivating in October. What a beautiful village you live in, Reb. I thought Moratinos and its community were wonderful, but was sorry you were not home when I stopped to say hello. I took a picture of Peaceable Kingdom.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The meseta is far too controversial for discussion in the Forum. A moderator should lock this thread before it gets out of hand.


Just kidding. It is amazing how the meseta is a "love it or hate it" thing on the camino. It has even managed to hijack this thread, which is about Reb's affirmative action on vandalism/decay on the Camino. If I may, I would like to return the subject to gratitude for what she has done. Thank you, Reb. I apologize for comments that impugn your beloved meseta. I fall squarely in the middle because I enjoy it all -- flat, up, and down (maybe a bit less there).

 

[Rebekah Scott]

When my time comes, I kinda hope I am out there on the Road. If I gotta be dead, it would be cool to have a stone of some sort, (maybe a pyramid, which is less likely to break down?) where passing pilgrims can (yes!) leave a stone and be reminded of why they are walking, and how not everybody makes it the whole way. And maybe they will say a prayer for my soul, too.

I daresay old Manfred gets a lot more said for his soul than he would´ve back in a cemetery in Trier. Still, it is an egotistic thought -- I am reminded of Steve Martin´s "King Tut" song.

Think of the thousands who have died along this trail, and the hundreds of stones and tombs and graves we must pass by each day, unmarked and unremarked.
As we are, they once were.
And as they are, we shall be.

Keith should know, as close a call as he had with mortality on this year´s cleanup. Somebody shot him. Details on the blog!http://moratinoslife.blogspot.com

 

[tyrrek]

Yes, it's unpleasant being shot. It was apparently an accident though. I hugged the guy who shot me so there were no hard feelings. Buen Camino!

 

[FatmaG]

I daresay old Manfred gets a lot more said for his soul than he would´ve back in a cemetery in Trier. ]

You must be pretty right, Rebekah.
However, it is great that you take care, not only of passing pilgrims but also of those passed by...

I posted your message on the German board.

.

 

[tyrrek]

You must be pretty right, Rebekah.
However, it is great that you take care, not only of passing pilgrims but also of those passed by...

I posted your message on the German board.

.

Yes right. I always say a little prayer for the fallen pilgs. It was great that an American, Italian and a Scot were repairing a German memorial in Spain. That's the Camino we love. Buen Camino!