Walking pilgrimage for loved ones' blessings and traditions for carrying small objects or prayers

[GentleWarriorPilgrim]

Hi! I’m new here; I decided to join because I googled my question for about an hour to no real avail and have found this forum helpful / interesting in the past as a non-member.

A little background - the Camino Frances was my first pilgrimage in 2016. Ended up being life changing though I didn’t realize it until a couple years later In 2018, I walked the North Downs Pilgrims Way in England with my now husband, and we did the first leg of the Via Francigena to Dover also. (Via Francigena is a lifelong goal!) He also completed the Gudbrandsdalsleden alone in Norway in 2015.

We have tried our best to and love adopting a pilgrim’s mindset in our daily lives. It just makes life easier and happier. Along with this, we aspire to go on pilgrimage at least every couple years.

All that being said, I know my Dad (who is 72) would have gone on pilgrimage when he was younger. He feels he is too old now and has some health concerns that might be dangerous. Also, my mother-in-law just passed away a few weeks ago. (This all connects, I promise!)

My husband’s and my upcoming 2022 pilgrimage will be on the Camino Inglés and we will also walk to Finisterre. Because we have done our pilgrimages before and have experienced many blessings already for ourselves by doing so, I’d like to walk, in a sense, for our loved ones who can’t.

I’ve heard of carrying prayers or small objects for others, and I know I can always light a candle and say a prayer at the cathedral in Santiago. But where do you leave those objects or do you? Is there a traditional way that I can walk for my loved ones who can’t? (Also, I am a Methodist, but carry devotional medals, which my Dad taught me about. I mention this to say, if there is any religious ritual that will help me walk for another’s blessings, I am open to that.)

Hopefully, I posted this in the right section. Thanks for your help!

 

[Peregrinopaul]

As far as I am aware, you would be able to dedicate your Compostela (and hence your pilgrimage) to your father by asking for “vicario pro” and his name to be added at the bottom of your certificate. I have done this twice, (on seperate caminos), for a deceased family member on one occasion, and a close friend who died just before accompanying me on another occasion. I am not positive that this is allowed in the case of a person not deceased, but incapacitated. Perhaps others may comment.
I do know that it is not possible to obtain a seperate compostela. You must dedicate your own.

 

[Mycroft]

Hi! I’m new here; I decided to join because I googled my question for about an hour to no real avail and have found this forum helpful / interesting in the past as a non-member.

A little background - the Camino Frances was my first pilgrimage in 2016. Ended up being life changing though I didn’t realize it until a couple years later In 2018, I walked the North Downs Pilgrims Way in England with my now husband, and we did the first leg of the Via Francigena to Dover also. (Via Francigena is a lifelong goal!) He also completed the Gudbrandsdalsleden alone in Norway in 2015.

We have tried our best to and love adopting a pilgrim’s mindset in our daily lives. It just makes life easier and happier. Along with this, we aspire to go on pilgrimage at least every couple years.

All that being said, I know my Dad (who is 72) would have gone on pilgrimage when he was younger. He feels he is too old now and has some health concerns that might be dangerous. Also, my mother-in-law just passed away a few weeks ago. (This all connects, I promise!)

My husband’s and my upcoming 2022 pilgrimage will be on the Camino Inglés and we will also walk to Finisterre. Because we have done our pilgrimages before and have experienced many blessings already for ourselves by doing so, I’d like to walk, in a sense, for our loved ones who can’t.

I’ve heard of carrying prayers or small objects for others, and I know I can always light a candle and say a prayer at the cathedral in Santiago. But where do you leave those objects or do you? Is there a traditional way that I can walk for my loved ones who can’t? (Also, I am a Methodist, but carry devotional medals, which my Dad taught me about. I mention this to say, if there is any religious ritual that will help me walk for another’s blessings, I am open to that.)

Hopefully, I posted this in the right section. Thanks for your help!

Good question, GWP. I bring a pebble from home and leave it somewhere outside the cathedral, but truly, I have no idea if there is a particular ritual. I know some locations along various caminos have collections of rocks, but I choose to discreetly leave my Intention Pebble near the cathedral, or toss it into the sea if I end in Finsterra or Muxia. I will be interested in learning if there is a protocol.

 

[Sandrapf99]

Hi! I’m new here; I decided to join because I googled my question for about an hour to no real avail and have found this forum helpful / interesting in the past as a non-member.

A little background - the Camino Frances was my first pilgrimage in 2016. Ended up being life changing though I didn’t realize it until a couple years later In 2018, I walked the North Downs Pilgrims Way in England with my now husband, and we did the first leg of the Via Francigena to Dover also. (Via Francigena is a lifelong goal!) He also completed the Gudbrandsdalsleden alone in Norway in 2015.

We have tried our best to and love adopting a pilgrim’s mindset in our daily lives. It just makes life easier and happier. Along with this, we aspire to go on pilgrimage at least every couple years.

All that being said, I know my Dad (who is 72) would have gone on pilgrimage when he was younger. He feels he is too old now and has some health concerns that might be dangerous. Also, my mother-in-law just passed away a few weeks ago. (This all connects, I promise!)

My husband’s and my upcoming 2022 pilgrimage will be on the Camino Inglés and we will also walk to Finisterre. Because we have done our pilgrimages before and have experienced many blessings already for ourselves by doing so, I’d like to walk, in a sense, for our loved ones who can’t.

I’ve heard of carrying prayers or small objects for others, and I know I can always light a candle and say a prayer at the cathedral in Santiago. But where do you leave those objects or do you? Is there a traditional way that I can walk for my loved ones who can’t? (Also, I am a Methodist, but carry devotional medals, which my Dad taught me about. I mention this to say, if there is any religious ritual that will help me walk for another’s blessings, I am open to that.)

Hopefully, I posted this in the right section. Thanks for your help!

Every person’s journey/Camino is personal to the individual. I just completed my first Camino (Le Puy) in 2021. I offered my entire Camino in memory of my beloved sister that passed away in 2014. But I also offered each day’s journey/KM for someone I love or a special intention that someone asked me to offer along the way. I made a list and each day I said a prayer for each intention. It made it so much more meaningful to me.

This Christmas, for my dearest family members, I printed a picture from each day that I walked for them. I purchased a frame and gave it to them as my special gift. I gave them a piece of my heart… from my journey.

 

[BonnieS]

Hi! I’m new here; I decided to join because I googled my question for about an hour to no real avail and have found this forum helpful / interesting in the past as a non-member.

A little background - the Camino Frances was my first pilgrimage in 2016. Ended up being life changing though I didn’t realize it until a couple years later In 2018, I walked the North Downs Pilgrims Way in England with my now husband, and we did the first leg of the Via Francigena to Dover also. (Via Francigena is a lifelong goal!) He also completed the Gudbrandsdalsleden alone in Norway in 2015.

We have tried our best to and love adopting a pilgrim’s mindset in our daily lives. It just makes life easier and happier. Along with this, we aspire to go on pilgrimage at least every couple years.

All that being said, I know my Dad (who is 72) would have gone on pilgrimage when he was younger. He feels he is too old now and has some health concerns that might be dangerous. Also, my mother-in-law just passed away a few weeks ago. (This all connects, I promise!)

My husband’s and my upcoming 2022 pilgrimage will be on the Camino Inglés and we will also walk to Finisterre. Because we have done our pilgrimages before and have experienced many blessings already for ourselves by doing so, I’d like to walk, in a sense, for our loved ones who can’t.

I’ve heard of carrying prayers or small objects for others, and I know I can always light a candle and say a prayer at the cathedral in Santiago. But where do you leave those objects or do you? Is there a traditional way that I can walk for my loved ones who can’t? (Also, I am a Methodist, but carry devotional medals, which my Dad taught me about. I mention this to say, if there is any religious ritual that will help me walk for another’s blessings, I am open to that.)

Hopefully, I posted this in the right section. Thanks for your help!

My close friend Ruth and I walked sections of the Camino Frances for 2 weeks in 2018. We knew we brought many friends and benefactors with us in our hearts and we expressed that in a number of ways. At some point each day we would decide to take the next bit of time to pray together. We would name those we were praying for, often with the Jesus prayer ("Jesus, Michael; Jesus, Tom" etc) We would quietly sing some songs of prayer. We might walk silently in prayer. We might sing a meditative version of the Jesus prayer ("Lord Jesus, mercy...") We carried prayer intentions from friends, and at times we would read them out as we walked, and eventually I put them at the feet of St. James in the Cathedral. And, we both felt, our very walk, our pilgrimage itself was a prayer. Blessings on your Camino! Bonnie