Regnum Christi Members in Spain walked 3 days between two key sites in the life of St. Teresa of Avila, growing spiritually through the experience.
Those walking were students from the Francisco de Vitoria University, the Major College at Francisco de Vitoria (a kind of dormitory that also provides formation an opportunities to live your faith in university), and young people from Regnum Christi. They walked from Avila to Alba de Tormes, from October 25-27, 2019. Paulina Núñez, a Consecrated Woman of Regnum Christi, and Fr. Gabriel Guajardo, LC, accompanied them. This pilgrimage has been an opportunity to put aside the routine, to approach Christ through nature, personal reflection, and relationships with other people who understand the desire to search for Christ, want to approach him, and are willing to make a pilgrimage.
Andrés Pou, a member of Regnum Christi and one of the ministry leaders at Francisco de Vitoria Major College, explains the role that this experience plays in the experience of faith of young university students: “It has been an opportunity to live the faith in a different way to what perhaps young people today are used to.” He continued, “We have been able to share our beliefs, our concerns, desires and fears in an environment of youth and friendship that is rarely achieved in normal life. For many it has also been a rediscovery of the experience of the faith, partly thanks to the incredible atmosphere that was formed, and also because the Lord makes use of these incredible experiences and the people around us to meet us.”
One of the most memorable moments of this pilgrimage was led by a group of young people who decided to get up at 5:00 in the morning and walk all the way to Alba de Tormes in one day, instead of just walking the 10km (6 miles) planned for that day. Andrés noted, “Along the way we had the opportunity to see the sunrise while traversing a landscape that we will surely never forget. The final touch of the day was to end the pilgrimage with the celebration of the Mass and, as some of us left early to walk longer, we arrived exactly at the beginning of Mass, presenting to the Lord our accumulated fatigue of more than 60 km [37 miles] and the joy of having reached the end accompanied by Him.”
On the other hand, Ana Flores, journalism student and team leader of an Encounter with Christ team in the Francisco de Vitoria Major College, explains, “The path of St. Teresa, as well as the other activities proposed by the Major College’s ministry, have been a great opportunity to live and strengthen my commitments as an incorporated member of Regnum Christi.” Specifically on this pilgrimage, she points out, “I could take advantage of moments of silence to speak with God, I reflected with him on all that leads me to be a Catholic and a member of Regnum Christi. The experience also allowed me to get to know other people of the Major College and Francisco de Vitoria University better.” Ana noted how this helps her as a team leader: “I was able to meet the girls from my Encounters with Christ in a more informal way on the pilgrimage, really see them as friends, discover their personalities, and what I can do for them as team leader. It was an experience of feeling accompanied by faith, of remembering that need to be a Community and of having an ever-greater desire to bring God to every corner of the world.”
You can read the original on the Spanish language Regnum Christi site.
