In the Footsteps of St. Ignatius: A Magis Pilgrim Hikes Her Way Across Spain
Picture tweeted by Kimmi Vo, during her 97 mile pilgrimage hiking to Javier, Spain
Boston College junior Kimmi Vo, like most of the Magis 2011 pilgrims, wasn’t sure what was in store for her when she signed up to attend the Magis program this summer in Spain. During her tweets from @MarylandJesuits, Vo writes, “First hike ever. 97 mi trek to Javier tomorrow! This week should be interesting.”
Vo is joining other pilgrims on a week long journey from the birthplace of St. Ignatius of Loyola in Azpeitia, across the rugged terrain of the Basque countryside to Javier, where another Jesuit saint and a first companion of St. Ignatius, Xavier, was born.
On the first day of her trek, Vo tweeted, “Just completed 15km of hiking for the first day of our pilgrimage. Brutal to say the least but thankful we all made it!” After hiking an additional 12 miles the next day, Vo tweeted, “Pain and suffering! Haha, no seriously, I’ve never been more sore. But when else will I ever be able to do this?”
During her hike, Vo shared this image from Twitter, above, of the scenery during her pilgrimage.
You can follow along with Vo and a team of U.S. student reporters during her Magis 2011 experiences by following @MarylandJesuits on Twitter.
Making Friends at Magis 2011
Magis is a pastoral experience of events and programs organized by the Jesuits for World Youth Day pilgrims in the weeks before World Youth Day begins in Madrid, Spain. Magis participants get to experience being “men and women for others” as they gather together to celebrate their faith and to serve and volunteer in their host country of Spain as well as Portugal and North Africa.
They also get to have fun!
These young adults, who are “with Christ at the heart of the world”, find a commonality with other young people from across the globe who might not share their language, their customs or their background yet do share their faith and beliefs. In this video piece, Marquette University students meet up with other Magis pilgrims from Malta and Thailand and discuss where their experiences will be taking them and what they’ll be doing during their Magis experiences.
U.S. Jesuit Chaperone and Students Discuss What Magis 2011 is All About
The 3,000 Magis pilgrims have now fanned out across Spain, Portugal and North Africa for their 100 unique Magis experiences. In small groups of about 25, the experience teams are composed of people from different countries which gives the pilgrims an opportunity to work with people from other cultures and backgrounds and who share in their faith.
The 100 experiences range from working amongst the poor, with immigrants, traveling along a religious pilgrimage “camino” or volunteering with the infirm. Accompanying the pilgrims are Jesuit chaperones like scholastic Michael Rossman, who is currently in his First Studies as a Jesuit at Loyola University Chicago, and is chaperoning a group of pilgrims from Marquette University.
Before they departed from Loyola, Rossman and three Marquette students shared what Magis 2011 is all about.
U.S. Student Reporters Tweet Their Experience at Magis 2011
Caroline Davis, a student at Saint Joseph’s University, shared this photo of Magis pilgrims departing Loyola via the Maryland Jesuits' Twitter feed.
“It’s hard to believe we’re in the airport! After signing up in Sept and meeting thru the year we’re really leaving!” exclaimed Fordham University junior Andrew Bevilacqua.
“Grateful we’ve all landed safely in Madrid. Currently resting at a cafe waiting for our bus,” reported Boston College junior Kimmi Vo. Later, from Loyola, she checked in with “Blessed with a beautiful day. Lots of fun kicking off #Magis2011 last night. Pumped for today!”
Caroline Davis, a junior at St. Joseph’s University, let everyone know she was “leaving Loyola after an amazing Magis experience. Met so many great people; pumped for Arenjuez!”
Twitter has given today’s Magis pilgrims a new way to communicate to their friends and family back home and to share with them their experience in real time – granted, in 140 characters or less! But, it was something that pilgrims just three years ago in Sydney, Australia would not have found possible.
Their short messages, using the #Magis2011 hashtag, have allowed other Twitter users to follow along with the pilgrims as they boarded planes, landed in Madrid, took buses to the Sanctuary of Loyola and now have headed off to their 10 day Magis experiences across Spain, Portugal and North Africa before gathering together once more in Madrid to experience World Youth Day 2011 together.
You can follow along with this team of U.S. student reporters by following @MarylandJesuits on Twitter.
Pilgrims and Their Jesuit Chaperones Leave Loyola Today for their Magis 2011 Experiences
Today, over 3,000 Magis pilgrims and the Jesuit chaperones set off across Spain and Portugal for 10 days of experiences in over 100 locations. These experiences ground the pilgrims in Ignatian spirituality which values becoming “men and women for others.” The goal of Magis itself is to always strive to do more for Christ and these pilgrims will set off in small groups of about 25 people volunteering in a prison, accompanying marginalized families, serving pilgrims at Lourdes and restoring a hermitage.
Over a week and a half, the experience groups are partnered with other pilgrims from across the world as they learn to live and work with people from different cultures and backgrounds while always finding commonality in their faith.
In this video, Marquette University students Lindsey Cutner, Kristin Berthene and Emma Scuglik share their thoughts on what their upcoming Magis experience holds for them.
“I think the thought I will take out of this Magis experience is the universality of the Catholic church,” says Cutner. “Because being in the U.S., I don’t see Catholics from different countries, so it is amazing to see Catholics from countries all over the world.”
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