Nourishing Body and Spirit: MSC Camino & Fatima Pilgrimage 2025

This September, Team MSC will undertake a very special journey as we walk the Camino Francés on the Camino de Santiago, before finishing the trip with a pilgrimage to Fatima. With the spectacular landscapes, local charm, and the chance to experience two wonderful pilgrimages on one trip, this promises to be the spiritual journey of a lifetime.

We will begin our pilgrimage in Sarria, the starting point for the final 100km of the Camino de Santiago – also known as the Camino Francés, the most popular section of the Way. We will spend seven days walking the route across stunning rural Galicia, which will culminate at the majestic Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela at the journey’s end.

Our route will take us through beautiful country roads and farmlands, crossing picturesque villages and hamlets, taking in majestic mountain views, and meandering along meadows, cornfields, and forests of oak and eucalyptus. It is an ideal time for reflection and prayer, and a perfect opportunity to enjoy the tranquillity and peace of mind offered by this unique physical and spiritual journey.

At the end of our Camino pilgrimage, we will take a transfer to Fatima, where we will spend three days following in the footsteps of the Children of Fatima, praying at the apparition sites, and simply taking in the indefinable wonder of this sacred space upon which miracles have been borne.

From the gentle movement of the Camino de Santiago to the peaceful pause of Fatima, this journey combines the very best of the experiences of pilgrimage, promising a spiritual voyage like no other.

Join us on the journey of a lifetime

Taking a pilgrimage is a one-of-a-kind experience, and this trip, combining the Camino and Fatima, offers the best of both worlds in one very special journey. Make new friends, strengthen old and enduring bonds, feel the physical rewards of walking the Way, and benefit from the spiritual sustenance that can only be found in the quiet heart of blessed pilgrimage.

It is a wonderful opportunity to meet new people, people who begin the trip as strangers and who quite often end up forming friendships that last long beyond the return journey home. Walking the Camino is a particularly unique experience, where you can walk alone if you so choose, or with the group when you feel like some company. You will meet pilgrims from around the world, all travelling for their own personal motivations, but with a mutual goal at heart. You can go at your own pace, and there’s always someone at hand to provide encouragement when you need it. We will all be following the same seashell signs, journeying together towards our shared destination – the magnificent medieval city of Santiago.

A pilgrimage to the sacred site of Fatima is an equally inspiring trip, with a beautiful local landscape providing a perfect backdrop to prayer, reflection, and good conversation. Our group will visit several hallowed sites, including the Basilica of the Rosary, the Basilica of the Holy

Trinity, the Way of the Cross, and Valinhos, where Our Lady appeared to the Children of Fatima, the three little shepherds, in August 1917. There will be many more stops along with way, and a very special day of prayer will end with the evening Rosary and a captivating candlelight procession – a lovely opportunity to pray for your personal intentions, and to remember those who have gone before us in the love of the Lord.

In its entirety, this promises to be a truly remarkable journey, exercising the body and the spirit in the most rewarding ways.

Bringing hope to vulnerable children in South Africa

This is a fundraising trip, with all funds raised from our pilgrimage going to support the Holy Family Care Centre in South Africa. For over two decades, the centre has been a sanctuary for orphaned, abandoned, and critically ill children, many of whom are HIV positive. The exceptional team in Ofcolaco tends to the needs of over 70 children at any one time, from infancy to adolescence, providing specialised care and unwavering dedication.

In today’s tumultuous times, the community at Holy Family are facing increasing challenges. The funding they receive quite literally saves lives – with 14 children at the centre currently on antiretroviral medication, issues with global funding such as USAID have put immense pressure on the Holy Family team. As it stands, the centre doesn’t have the capacity to take new children who so desperately need their care, and now, with the added difficulties presented by volatile world politics and escalating costs, they urgently need our support.

Last year, our Camino walk raised over €20,000 for the Holy Family community, which has provided 12 months of groceries for the children at the centre. “It has been the biggest help,” writes Sr Sally Duigan, Director at the centre. “The 2024 Camino funds pay for our groceries once a week – meat, dairy, bread, baby formula, etc. It is such a Godsend and we are so grateful.”

This year, we’re stepping up to meet a new challenge for the Holy Family team. Earlier in the year, we asked our mission friends in the Irish Province to help us to raise funds to build a new sleeping area for the toddlers who call the centre home, as their dormitory space is currently crowded in with the older children. Plans for the new Toddler Room are underway, but there’s a long way to go before the team at Holy Family can successfully provide a safe, comfortable sleeping space for the 20 young children and two carers. All funds raised from our 2025 pilgrimage will go towards necessities such as bathtubs, toilets, beds and bedding, cupboards and storage, a small kitchenette, and a covered walkway to the building.

The invitation is open to all – we would be delighted to have you join us this September for the experience of a lifetime. Not only will you be part of a truly special pilgrimage, but you will also be providing vital support to the very vulnerable children at Holy Family. Take the first step and join us today.

To truly understand the profound impact of the Holy Family community, we invite you to explore their remarkable work first-hand.