Photos by Hew Hallock Walking from Del Norte to Monte Vista yesterday, members of San Juan Catholic Community, above and below, which includes churches in Center, Del Norte, Monte Vista and Saguache, near the end of their two-day pilgrimage called “A Walk to Emmaus” that went from Center to Del Norte to Monte Vista.

Pilgrimage

promotes unity



By HEW HALLOCK

MONTE VISTA — Members of the San Juan Catholic Community made a spiritual journey – a pilgrimage – this week walking from Center to Del Norte to Monte Vista over two days as a way to renew their faith.

“We walk as Jesus walked and suffered for us,” explained Grace Sandoval of Monte Vista.

Sandoval said 89 people began the walk on Monday from St. Francis Jerome church in Center. Later that day the group arrived in Del Norte where mass was held and the Knights of Columbus served dinner.

On Tuesday a smaller group of around 50 walked from Del Norte to Monte Vista on U.S. Highway 160 escorted by police cars from Del Norte and Monte Vista. In Monte Vista, mass was held at St. Joseph church.

The San Juan Catholic Community is made up of the Roman Catholic churches in Center, Del Norte, Monte Vista and Saguache.

The pilgrimage was called “A Walk to Emmaus,” said Father Joseph Vigil of Monte Vista, taken from the story of Christ’s disciples recognizing Him along their journey to Emmaus, and asking Him to stay with them. It was a way to pray for unity in the San Luis Valley, said Fr. Vigil. He also described the walk as a time for renewal and “encountering the Word in our lives and with each other.”

For Antonio Garcia of Alamosa, the pilgrimage was quite an experience. “I’m walking to meet more people in the Valley,” he said, “feeling togetherness as a

whole body, as a community. It’s a little sacrifice. In a sense, very joyful.”

“Part of our Catholic tradition is to make pilgrimages,” said Father Matthew Wertin, who serves a parish in Trinidad. “This walk is very important to unite us. We hope young people will carry on

traditions of their faith.”

Fr. Wertin, who interned in the San Luis Valley three years as a seminarian, was invited to join walk by Fr. Vigil. “I believe we started this because people are

forgetting the way Jesus sacrificed for us,” said Sandoval.