On June 25, 2007, Bishops Paul-André Durocher and Lionel Gendron flew to France for their vacation. But they aren't traveling to France to see popular tourist attractions or sample fine French cuisine. They are traveling to France to embark on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.Santiago de Compostela is the end point of 'El Camino de Santiago,' or the Way of St. James. It is in that city's Cathedral where the remains of the Apostle St. James can be found. El Camino has a number of different starting points, including locations in France, and is several hundred kilometers long (hence the Bishops' plan of 30 kilometers for 30 days!).Hopefully the two Bishops will have the opportunity to contact us with updates throughout their pilgrimage. We'll be sure to publish this information on a special Salt + Light web page found here: Two Canadian Bishops on the Road to Compostela. Also on this web page, you can watch Sébastien Lacroix’s interview with Bishop Durocher a few days before his departure. In the interview, Bishop Durocher shared some thoughts about the spiritual aspects of pilgrimages:

Each walk is a new experience, each one is different. It's the same with our lives, it seems as if our days are very similar one day to another ... but the richness of the spiritual life is to discover the beauty and uniqueness of each moment. And so in that sense what we learn on pilgrimages becomes a metaphor for the spiritual life itself; a life of discovery, a life of renewal, and a life of growth as we walk along.

Who said that walking was boring?We will meet with our pilgrims upon their return so that they may share their experience with us on an episode of Catholic Focus.Stay tuned!