El Camino real walking pilgrimage
march 24-27, 2022
Siempre Adelante - Always Forward
30 miles. 3-day journey. Walking from San Gabriel Mission to San Fernando Mission in California
The focus of the 250th Jubilee Year in the Los Angeles Archdiocese is:
To revive the life of faith in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles through the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the raising up of a new generation of missionary disciples.
Schedule
Beginning on the evening of Thursday, March 24th, we will congregate at Mission San Gabriel for Adoration and Dinner to kick-off our 32-mile walk that will begin the following morning. Our three-day journey will take us to a total of seven churches, including Daily Mass, Adorations, and Stations of the Cross. Accommodations will be in designated “pilgrim houses” so we strongly recommend the use of personal a sleeping bag. On the final day, Sunday, March 27th, we will reach our destination at Mission San Fernando, where we will enjoy lunch and mission tours before closing our Camino with Vespers and the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Vitus Catholic Church.
PILGRIMAGE
Pilgrimage is a physical journey that resembles the heart’s progress toward a place of theophany where God reveals himself. The theme of pilgrimage is a multi-faceted concept that includes ideas of journey, experiencing exile, living as a pilgrim and sojourner, and the quest for a homeland. We are open to the whole human experience, accepting individual challenges and communal support during this journey.
Some of us decided to try to follow in the footsteps of the founders of California missions, Franciscan friars, and encounter God in nature, places, and historical missions but especially in fellow peregrinos (pilgrims).
We will spend each day on personal and communal prayer including Mass and Adoration. We will include silence, sharing words and meals, resting and breathing the atmosphere of SoCal. We will also include active evangelization and offer prayer ministry as we encounter people on our pilgrimage. The style of pilgrimage is similar to that of the Camino in Spain, we travel in small groups only.
This pilgrimage is suitable for whole families.
Jubilee year
A Jubilee Year lasts from September 11, 2021 through September 10, 2022 celebrating 250 years of Catholic faith in Los Angeles on the anniversary of the founding of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first church in what is now the Archdiocese. All faithful are encouraged to make pilgrimages to one of the Pilgrimage Sites and we will visit and pray in three of them, walking through the Holy Doors.
SAN GABRIEL MISSION
Our focus will be becoming missionary disciples who are on a continual pilgrimage to Jesus’ heart and sharing the Gospel with words and power.
SAN FERNANDO MISSION
We will walk El Camino Real section from San Gabriel Mission to San Fernando Mission. The journey will take three days and 30 miles in a backpacking style, staying in cheap motels (for the lack of typical pilgrim’s houses). We will visit mission parishes on the way.
Send your prayer requests and we will pray daily in your intentions:
Iwona, Vince, and Teah, our full-time Missionaries are embarking on this pilgrimage with many others with an intention to pray for our supporters and to gain new ones! Please, consider joining our mission as Stone to Flesh full-time Missionaries.
Ideas:
become a HEART SPONSOR (give monthly $25, $50, $100 or more to one of the full-time Missionaries)
sponsor one or more missionaries one time (give one time)
Start your journey in supporting our full-time missionaries by choosing the team you want to be on!
Images from El Camino Real June’21 from Sand Diego Mission to San Juan Capistrano Mission via San Luis Rey Mission:
So far we have walked 63 miles from San Diego Mission via San Luis Rey to San Juan Capistrano in June 2021. We are planning to continue El Camino Real Pilgrimage in short distances, walking from Mission to Mission soon.
“Solvitur ambulando. It is solved by walking.”