P16 Pilgrimage 25

This year we had our 4th successive annual Pilgrimage for the 6th form students. 13 students had the life-changing experience to complete a section of the 'Camino de Santiago' Pilgrimage in the North of Spain. (The Way of Saint James). Starting at Sarria, then into Portomarin, Palas de Rei, Arzua, O Pedrouzo and finally Santiago de Compostela. The students were fantastic and showed so much perseverance throughout what was a challenging, long-distance journey. The students had the opportunity to lead reflection and prayer, and sing hymns together. They thrived on meeting other people on the Camino. They really did Immanuel College proud! We had people recognising the Immanuel T-shirts and stopping to tell us how amazing, respectful and polite the students were. Before arriving in Santiago, we had a little service where the students reflected on their journey, and every student had their story to share. It was amazing to watch students finding themselves and exploring faith, life and God. Once arriving in Santiago, we had a beautiful church service where students had the opportunity to take communion or receive a blessing in recognition of our shared connection with each other and Christ. We had the opportunity to go into the Cathedral at Santiago for the pilgrim mass and later visited the holy relics (tomb of the apostle Saint James). We even got to see the Botafumeiro pendulum containing incense, which was an incredible experience! To finish, we visited Finisterre, which means “end of the World”. A spectacular way to conclude our Pilgrimage experience.