Father Matthew Harrison, campus minister at High Point University, and a group of students trekked 200 miles of the Camino de Santiago in Spain this summer, deepening their spiritual journeys.
HIGH POINT— Father Matthew Harrison and a group of college students from High Point University’s Campus Ministry trekked the Camino de Santiago in Spain in May, following in the footsteps of St. James the Apostle.
This was the third time Father Harrison has hiked the Camino, and each experience has had its own challenges and benefits.
“Taking the students and leading them through the spiritual journey of St. James and tapping into the apostolic zeal that is so inherent to the Camino was a different experience,” said Father Harrison, who serves as their campus minister.
The Camino, dubbed “The Way of St. James,” marks the pathway forged by St. James the Apostle as he evangelized across Europe. The path spans more than 200 recognized routes encompassing thousands of miles of trails, with primary routes passing through Spain, Portugal and France.
“There is something so beautiful about being disconnected in nature, but on a deeper level feeling that connection to St. James and going back to the roots of our Christian faith is amazing,” Father Harrison said. “St. James literally walked to the end of the earth to preach the Gospel, and that reinvigorates me with my own desire to evangelize always and everywhere.”
Father Harrison chose the Camino Francés route because it is the most traveled, has the most resources and is heavy with pilgrims. The path winds through congested cities full of sights and sounds capable of bringing even the least spiritual person to their knees – the perfect setting to maximize evangelization while bonding spiritually with his students and God.
“A majority of people on the trail are not Catholics,” Father Harrison said. “A lot of people there are looking for God or looking for something, and almost every conversation we have is able to navigate towards Christ and turn into a moment of evangelization.”
Their chosen route travels nearly 500 miles, but the group had time for only 200. They hit hot spots like the “House of Light” Cathedral in León and the ancient Roman walled town of Astorga. They ended at the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, where, like most pilgrims, they spent their final moments stretched out on stone ground reflecting on their journey toward God.
For the pilgrims, the quiet reflection times, journaling, digital fasting, prayers and evangelism opportunities felt like a long-needed retreat.
“The Camino simplified life and showed me the things we live for,” said participant Caleb Knox. “I don’t think I appreciated sacred spaces before this trip.”
“We were praying constantly together and celebrated Mass all over the place,” Father Harrison said. They offered Mass most notably at the ruins of the monastery that St.
Francis of Assisi visited during his own Camino adventure.
During the two-week trip, they stayed overnight at inexpensive hostels, chowing down on cheap pasta, cereal or rice – carbs to help fuel them on their long journey.
Each day, students took a turn leading the group in prayer. When they were not praying, they were discussing everything from technology and feeling rushed in modern society to geopolitics and wars, “doom scrolling” and the animal kingdom.
For the most part, they put their cell phones aside, trying to use them for less than an hour a day. Father Harrison wore his Roman collar, and the students all traveled with their backpacks that featured a shell, the symbol of Catholic pilgrims, displayed on the back.
Going as the spiritual father of the group was different for Father Harrison, who experienced the same physical exhaustion as his students but also focused on how to turn hiking activities into opportunities for spiritual growth.
There were bad blisters and sore legs, knees and feet, but the Camino, just like life and the weather, continued to move forward unconcerned about the pilgrims’ personal struggles.
On day one, a May downpour caused the men to run for cover. By the second week, though, the students were unfazed by the weather. A massive sheet of rain appeared in front of them, and instead of scattering for shelter, they plowed right through without words – a complete contrast that impressed Father Harrison.
“As a group we grew and matured,” he said. “One of the beautiful things about the Camino is that it is incredibly challenging, but all the men were able to push hard through those moments and get to the other side successfully, together as a team.”
The trip left an impression on Father Harrison, and he hopes to make it an annual campus ministry trip.
“It is not just a personal journey for each of them, but a journey for our community and our campus ministry, for us to get closer to Christ,” he said. “I definitely want to take more students on this pilgrimage. It is an opportunity for them to grow both in their faith and as future leaders in the Church and the world. Doing something hard like this makes you a stronger person and a better version of yourself.”
— Lisa M. Geraci
