GPBS - The 2025 Rome & Camino Year of Jubilee Pilgrimage

PILGRIMS of HOPE

The 2025 Rome & Camino Year of Jubilee Pilgrimage

Fellow Pilgrims,

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”      (Ernest Hemingway)

Pilgrimage is an experience common to all religions and cultures. In it, what is proper to human nature finds expression. The world does not contain the human person, but rather like a waymark, opens it to transcendence, to God. Humankind has always known that the world is not its final destination, that here we are always travellers .

“Leave your country, your people, and the home of your parents, and go to a place which I will show you.” (Genesis 12: 1)

Christians enact the pilgrimage of faith. The Church defines itself in this world as a pilgrim Church, in search of the heavenly homeland. The profound meaning of pilgrimage for Christians can thus be understood. We do not go in search of the divine to some far off unknown source, but rather return to the depths of our own faith, find the experience of the truth in our own lives, renew our own existence, while reaffirming the need and the possibility of forgiveness, of compassionate embrace, of the grace of jubilee.

As ‘Pilgrims of Hope,’ the Jubilee 2025 offers a unique opportunity for all of God’s people to strengthen their faith, experience God’s grace and share hope with the world. Embrace the spirt of pilgrimage and participate in this special year of celebration. ‘Pilgrims of Hope,’ the motto of the Jubilee Year 2025, where Pope Francis invites the Church - to rediscover the theme of hope.

The Vatican and Rome are holy cities to the Roman Catholic Church. Rome is the seat of the Papacy since the 1st century AD and later home to the Vatican, where the Pope resided since the 14th century. Traditionally, the See of Rome was founded by Saint Peter who first held the position of the Pope or Bishop of Rome. According to UNESCO St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican is the largest religious building in the world. Today Rome has a Cathedral and more than 900 churches and some of the most prominent Catholic churches can be found there as well as many important Catholic institutes.

After leaving Rome we will head to Barcelona which is adorned by the famous art and buildings of Gaudi, the most spectacular being the La Sagrada Familia Basilica. While in Barcelona, we will visit Montserrat, the Benedictine monastery, and the famous Black Madonna, a destination for pilgrims from around the world.

We will walk the final 110kms journey from  Sarria to Santiago de Compostela and arrive on Sunday 18 May, to join fellow pilgrims and celebrate Eucharist in the Cathedral of Saint James. On Tuesday we will travel (by bus!) to Finisterre to make the journey complete, as James did.

As we walk together, we will stop, reflect and spend time in some of the most beautiful places on the Camino. With our accommodation taken care of and our baggage transferred each day, we will have a wonderful opportunity to explore the well-worn path at a leisurely pace. See why hundreds of thousands of people before us from all over the world have found this pilgrim path so rewarding.

Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened the Scriptures for us?” (Luke 24: 32)

We will travel by train from Compostela to Madrid and experience the beauty of this great city for a couple of days. While in Madrid we will explore the history and wonder of Toledo.

I look forward to sharing the “Pilgrims of Hope” Year of Jubilee journey with you.

Paul Skippen
Tour Leader