Mr. Paul Sheff ‘62 and Fr. Michael Nolan Bring the Camino de Santiago to Life
Earlier this month, Mr. Paul Sheff and Fr. Michael Nolan visited Mr. Gabe Verdaguer's Spanish classes to share their experiences on the Camino, a Christian pilgrimmage to Spain, with CM students.
West Roxbury, Mass.-- “What is my north star?”
That is the question that led Mr. Paul Sheff ‘62 to walk the Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James, in Spain.
That is the question that led Mr. Paul Sheff ‘62 to walk the Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James, in Spain.
Last week, Mr. Sheff and Fr. Michael Nolan, a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston, visited Spanish classes at the invitation of Mr. Gabriel Verdaguer, World Languages Department Chair, to share their experiences on the Camino with CM students. The Camino is viewed by many Catholics and other Christians as a spiritual pilgrimage.
Fr. Nolan reflected on the idea of a pilgrimage and its importance to many faith traditions. Making a sports analogy, Mr. Sheff described himself as entering the fourth quarter of his life. He wanted to discover the part of his life that would keep him grounded.
Mr. Sheff, President Emeritus of CM, focused on some of the most poignant memories along his journey. He described one of the key moments of his journey at the Cruz de Ferro, known as the Iron Cross, which, as the highest point on the walk, offers spectacular views, but is also the site of one of the most cherished traditions of the Camino. Pilgrims often bring stones from their hometowns and leave them at the foot of the cross to symbolically leave behind their burdens.
In Mr. Sheff’s case, he brought along two stones, which had great symbolic power, but not of any burden.
“I brought two stones. One from the grave of my father and one from the grave of my wife’s father, my father-in-law. These were two men who had significant impact on my life,” shared Mr. Sheff.
For Mr. Sheff, he found his north star-- "tranquilo" or calmness-- at the Palas de Rei. Here he discovered the calmness that will carry him throughout the rest of his life.
“Walking the Camino can be a very personal spiritual experience. Both Fr. Nolan and Mr. Sheff brought precisely that level of depth into the unit by sharing their personal stories. It was also invaluable to have them answer questions directly from our students, something that I could not do myself,” said Mr. Verdaguer.
Mr. Sheff and Fr. Nolan’s visit to discuss their experiences on the Camino was part of a larger cultural unit on the Camino in Mr. Verdaguer’s classes. His classes read an article which described the history of the Camino and the current state of the experience. In addition, they watched a documentary Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago before completing a personal reflectional on a hypothetical experience on the Camino.
"I think it is very valuable that we have the opportunity to have guest speakers like Mr. Sheff and Fr. Nolan. It's pretty amazing that we get to hear from someone first hand that has a big connection to CM. What's even more amazing is that it brings to life an experience we read about in textbooks and see in educational videos," said senior Kevin Boyle, a West Roxbury resident.
This academic experience typifies the type of learning happening in the classrooms at CM. As one of the cultural units common to a world language course, the unit explored not just the language, but the history and tradition of an importance cultural experience. Students had the opportunity to study the walk’s significiance through reading, watching the documentary, and hearing a personal account.
Striving to be relevant to their lives, the unit also connected their coursework to their own spiritual journeys through the reflection.
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Catholic Memorial, the Christian Brothers School of Boston, prepares boys for college, manhood and a world full of unknown challenges, ambiguity and complex problems and the importance of relationships.
