The group responsible for organizing the “Camino de New York” arrived at the Shrine of St. Francesca Cabrini before dawn on October 31. Fifteen long miles awaited Bishop Peter Byrne, Father Vincent Druding, representatives of various religious communities, and the faithful who intended to walk the entire length of Manhattan in prayer
and sacrifice for an increase in vocations. The Shrine was the starting point. The idea for the walk was conceived while Bishop Byrne and Father Vincent were walking the Camino de
Santiago in Spain last August. They discussed the Church’s urgent need for more priests and religious whose hearts burn with the desire to bring the Gospel to souls. Why not create a pilgrimage route in New York? The project quickly took shape.
The Shrine offered to provide a light breakfast for participants after the bilingual Mass. Since no registration was required for participants, we estimated that a 7:30 a.m. Mass on Saturday might attract about 60 participants. We were off by about 200! Fortunately, we had just done some grocery shopping at Costco and had several packages of granola bars and other snacks on hand. Just as fortunately, Sister Laura Baldini, MSC, arrived to help with the logistics. And what a way to start the day! The crowd began to leave around 9:15 a.m., giving us time to prepare for our usual 9:30 a.m. Mass and the rest of the day.
~ submitted by Julia Attaway, Executive Director, Shrine of St. Frances X. Cabrini, New York
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