A pilgrim's blessing

Tonight I attended a pilgrim's blessing in the lovely church around the corner from the albergue in Villasirga.At the 7 pm mass the setting sun came flooding in the west window lighting the altar.

There were 8 pilgrims from Germany, USA and Canada. A lady read from St. Pablo (St. Paul) and I tried, unsuccessfully, to follow along but snatched the odd word. At the end the priest invited the pilgrims up to the front and blessed us and admonished us to care for one another along the trail. The priest asked each of us to state our country and city. The other Canadian, a white-haired man, was also from Toronto and when it came to my turn, he responded with "go leafs go."

Here is a sculpture of a local mayor remembered as a medieval pilgrim in the square outside the church.

Note the fortress quality of the church built by the Templars. That little window was perfectly aligned for the today's setting sun.