- Time of past OR future Camino
- First one in 1977 by train. Many since then by foot. Next one ASAP.
My Anglican Catholic calendar notes that today, July 21st, is the feast of Saint Lawrence of Brindisi. He was a Counter-Reformation Roman Catholic priest of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and a noted theologian -- indeed, he was named a "Doctor of the Church" by Pope John XXIII in 1959.. He died on July 22 1619 in Lisbon, Portugal. His remains were moved shortly after his death to the chapel of the Convent of the Annunciation in a small town on the Camino de Santiago, Villafranca del Bierzo.
He is one of only two "Doctors of the Church" entombed on the Camino Frances, to the best of my recollection. The other, far better known, of course, is St. Thomas Aquinas, in Toulouse France.
I tried to pay my respects when I passed through Villafranca in 2017, but I arrived outside of service hours and the nuns refused to admit me into their chapel. (Can't blame 'em, actually. It's a convent, after all.) I'll time my arrival better next time.
He is one of only two "Doctors of the Church" entombed on the Camino Frances, to the best of my recollection. The other, far better known, of course, is St. Thomas Aquinas, in Toulouse France.
I tried to pay my respects when I passed through Villafranca in 2017, but I arrived outside of service hours and the nuns refused to admit me into their chapel. (Can't blame 'em, actually. It's a convent, after all.) I'll time my arrival better next time.