SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA – Shepparton Interfaith Network

Martim Thomas, 41, from Switzerland, walks along a path during a stage of “Camino de Santiago” or St. James Way near Pamplona, northern Spain, Thursday, April 14, 2021. The pilgrims are trickling back to Spain’s St. James Way after a year of being kept off the trail due to the pandemic. Many have committed to putting their lives on hold for days or weeks to walk to the medieval cathedral in Santiago de Compostela in hopes of healing wounds caused by the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (AP) — Committing to the pilgrim’s path has for centuries been a source of renewal for those willing to put their lives on hold and spend days, weeks or even months crossing Spain along the Camino de Santiago, a journey that takes hikers to the reported burial place of the apostle St. James.

But after a year of being kept off the Way of St. James due to pandemic-related travel restrictions, soul-searchers hoping to heal wounds left by the coronavirus are once again strapping on backpacks and following trails marked with a seashell emblem to the shrine in the city of Santiago de Compostela.