Camino crossroads had a familiar Dorignac’s feel

By Vivian Marino
Clarion Herald

I recently returned home from walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain with my two siblings and friends. St. John Paul II said the “Way to Santiago” has been sometimes considered “as an example of the Church’s pilgrimage on its journey towards the heavenly city. It is a path of prayer and penance, of charity and solidarity – a stretch of the path of life where the faith, becoming history among mankind, also converts culture into something Christian.”

The Camino was all of that and more!

My good friend and I came up with the idea to walk the Camino two years ago. The plan was to do the Camino Frances in five days. We would start in Sarria and then walk 100 kilometers to Santiago de Compostela. We were essentially walking a half-marathon every day for five days; however, there was no daily time deadline. We could walk at our leisure and take our time completing the course for the day.

An early strategy

At the start of the walk, our Camino group agreed that we might start together, but in the end, we would most likely walk alone. 

On the first day, I stuck with my group for the first six miles, getting a feel for the terrain and what this walk would entail. I walked alone once I understood the path and felt safe and secure. 

For hours, I walked without headphones or a companion, just taking in the Camino’s views and smells and enjoying the sound of my feet hitting the ground. To say it was glorious is an understatement! Throughout this time, I would pray the rosary or pray for people. I would find a rock on the ground, think of a person, take a Sharpie marker, write their name on it, and pray for them while holding onto it as I walked. When I felt it was time to let it go and pray for the next person, I would place their rock on a mile marker where their name would be seen by the countless pilgrims walking the way. Essentially, I left a piece of them on the Camino.
    
After hours of doing this, the most incredible conversation of my life began. I expected my walk to be a conversation with Mary, given that I have an immense devotion to the rosary, which started much later in life, but that was not the case. Then, I thought my conversation would be with her son, but that was not the case either. Instead, God the Father, wanted my attention in the most perfect and gentle way. So many things were revealed that words cannot do it justice. 

However, you will understand what God first revealed to me when you finish reading this.
    
On the first day of the walk, I drifted ahead of my group and was lost in my thoughts. I started to become overwhelmed with the amount of time I would be away from my husband and four children, and I began to weep as I walked.
    
Two thoughts came to my mind: I hadn’t come this far, only to come this far and go home. 

Conversely, maybe my Camino had been at home all along, and I did not recognize it. The bottom line is that I had reached a crossroad in my thoughts, and that is precisely when I came across a physical crossroad in the Camino; I was unsure where to go.
    
With a puzzled look and tears hiding behind my sunglasses, I approached two men who seemed to be a father and son walking, assumed they were Spanish, and politely asked them which way to go. That’s when the father said, “Excuse me, ma’am, we don’t know Spanish, and we are trying to figure it out ourselves.”

Unmistakable accent
    
The second he spoke, I recognized that familiar accent. Immediately, I asked him where he was from, and he said his name was Charles Walden, and he lived in Mississippi but was originally from New Orleans, and his son lives on the West Bank. What were the chances? There was no denying that New Orleans accent thousands of miles away from home! If I closed my eyes, I would have thought I was talking to someone in line at Dorignac’s! Indeed, there are no mere coincidences in life.
    
Immediately, I felt comfortable walking with them, and we figured out the way to our destination for the day. One thing about the Camino is that things get deep quickly. People come to the Camino for a reason. The father and son are both named Charles. They have done missionary work in the past together and decided to do the last 100 kilometers of the Camino together. 

Charles Sr. has eight children, and the son traveling with him is the youngest. Charles Sr. had a significant reversion in 2017 and has not looked back. His love for the Catholic faith radiates, and he is in the diaconate program at his parish, Our Lady of the Gulf in Waveland, Mississippi. He is set to be ordained a deacon in June 2025 at the age of 66.
    
As we walked, I asked him many questions regarding his faith, the diaconate program and why he decided to do it. Charles Sr. explained that although he was Catholic, he grew up in a family that did not participate in the church. In 2017, he returned to church because he did not like who he had become and wanted something greater. Soon after, he signed up for RCIA classes, and his wife Linda was his sponsor. From that moment forward, he was all-in attending retreats and finding joy in serving others.


Studying to be a deacon

After a vocations event at their church, many suggested that he would make a wonderful deacon and should consider the diaconate program. He talked to his pastor in depth, knowing that he would be the oldest in the program and the demands it entailed. He also explained that the true deciding factor was whether or not his wife agreed. She had the final say because so much time is involved. 

When I asked about his wife’s response, Charles got teary-eyed. She told him she knew he would be a wonderful deacon and could not deny him the opportunity. His testimony was breathtaking. How he spoke about his wife, family and faith brought tears to my eyes. That’s when I told him I had been struggling right before meeting him because I missed my family. He comforted me with such peace-filled words, hugged me and told me all would be OK. That’s when it hit me that God knew I was struggling and answered my prayer perfectly. He sent a father from New Orleans to cross my path when I needed it the most; God brought me a piece of home I needed to move on to the days ahead.

Regrettably, I did not exchange information with Charles that day other than casually mentioning that I write for the Clarion Herald. To my surprise, as I was on the long flight home, I checked my email and received a message from my editor, Peter Finney. Charles searched for me on the internet, found one of my articles, contacted Peter and asked if he could pass along a message to me. It indeed was the perfect ending to the trip!

Helped each other

We finally spoke on the phone for more than an hour, talking about the Camino, faith and life in general. I told him that he was the one who got me through my initial sadness. Then, he revealed to me that when we ran into each other, he and his son were in bad shape from the day’s walk but that he got through it by us talking and walking.

I met so many people along the way, from all over the world, and I heard so many different reasons why they were doing the walk, I could write countless stories. The Camino is like life – it can be challenging and lengthy, but simultaneously, it is beautiful. You genuinely do not want it to end. You have one job: Follow the arrows until you reach the destination: the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

That’s when God gently unveiled the first of many things to me. He revealed that people desire time with others. It is time to enjoy each other’s company and share their stories with someone who will listen with the utmost genuine attention. However, we must have the courage to ask questions and the grace and compassion to listen and understand them.

You see, the Camino is about walking with God and walking with others – taking time to listen to him and his creation. God always provides the arrows, much like the Camino; we must take notice of them.