July 2026 newsletter

July 25, 2026

Dear Friends,

Happy Saint James Day from Rhode Island and congratulations to Spain for winning the World Cup! 

St. James shows his excitement for Spain's win, courtesy of AI images.

In the small world of the camino, a few weeks ago I met Rebekah Scott (noted journalist, writer, and pilgrim) in the baggage claim area at Logan Airport in Boston. I told her our renovations were finally completed, and the House was fully reopened. She said, “All renovation projects take twice as long, cost twice as much and require twice as much wine.” Amen to that.

It has been a complicated process to install new plumbing and 15 bathrooms into a two-hundred-year-old building. Adding bathrooms to each room has made them smaller but they are compact, efficient, and an improvement over the shared bathrooms.

While we will never have the central air conditioning or elevators that some modern pilgrims require, we will always be true to our mission to provide a safe and hospitable place where pilgrims and others of faith or no faith may share at our table and relax in our garden.  

Thank you, Bishop Carlos and Felipe (House Manager at Casa Anglicana) for spearheading this project. Thanks to all of our friends whose financial support has made it possible.

Board Member Edie Morrill and I were in Santiago for ten days at the end of June doing some fine-tuning. She stained and varnished the stairs and the worst of the scratched bedroom floors. I wielded my paintbrush and trowel, touching up the paint and working in the garden. When Felipe was not doing his managerial duties or making banana bread from a surplus of bananas, he was replacing light fixtures and acting as translator on our shopping expeditions. 

We missed Bishop Carlos’ presence. He was busy electing two new suffragan bishops for the diocese, and traveling to Belfast to attend the Anglican Consultative Congress. The Bishop is pictured below with The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally, Archbishop of Canterbury. (Since Archbishop Sarah is an avid walker and cyclist, perhaps she will visit Casa Anglicana one day!)

By the time we left, each room in the main house had been spruced up with new beds, linens, clothes hanging poles, benches where possible, bed lamps and overhead lights.

Removing the communal bathrooms and moving the library to the Casita behind the patio garden has resulted in the addition of two new rooms, both overlooking the garden.

The triples on the top floor have new bathrooms, beds, bedtables and fans.

The Casita behind the garden has two additional rooms plus the library which is now the location of the daily AA meetings.

The laundry room has been moved to a lower floor and at last, the linens and the two new washers and dryers to clean them, are in the same room.

Gone are the construction remains, old furniture, anything plastic, the electric bicycle, and dead plants. The garden is once again open with new cushions and new lights. The stars of the patio are the weeds. They are thriving.

All that remains is for the new carpet to be installed. The stairs and hallways have been measured and the carpet is being manufactured. It will be professionally installed this summer. Once in place, the stairs will be safer and quieter, making it worth the expense.  (10,547.20 euros). I am counting the days before the old carpet, literally hanging on by the thread, is gone.

While the renovations have been much on our minds these last months, the Chaplaincy has been in full swing.  This year, the chaplains have been the mainstay of our ministry in Santiago. Since mid-March and throughout the construction, they have stayed at the Casa.  Despite no guests at the Casa until June, volunteer chaplains have persevered and found creative ways to connect with pilgrims. Philippa Boardman and April Keech opened the season with rough accommodations and had over 200 visitors to San Fiz some days. Sue Stilwell took her ministry to the streets, Chris Beukman and his wife Lucy offered pilgrims live music while Phil White gave them Tarta de Santiago. Yoko Euda, Miriam Fife, Daniel Moore, David Hindman and Jeffrey Shankles each added their own gifts. Ian Budd and his wife welcomed the kids to the Casa. David Evans cooked for the volunteers from Pilgrim House and the Pilgrim Office (plus some Casa guests) Daniela Kim kept them all in line. Thank you one and all for making this ministry possible.

There is a saying “The Camino provides”. Three days before he was to begin serving as our next chaplain, Mel Soriano, called to say he had been denied boarding his flight to Spain due to an expiring passport. We had three days to find a replacement and would be without a chaplain on a day that three different groups of young people were due to come to the 4pm eucharist at San Fiz. Daniela, our WEC Presbyterian missionary stepped in once again for coverage but since she is not ordained, she could not offer the Eucharist.

Try as we might, we could not find an English-speaking priest.   The afternoon before the groups’ arrivals, a woman rang the doorbell, wanting to know why there would be no Eucharist at 4 pm. Over tea we explained our dilemma.  She identified herself as a priest in good standing from the Church of Canada in Calgary.  She had just finished walking the Camino and would happily celebrate the 4pm eucharist that day and the next. Daniela took her to San Fiz and guided her through the service. As we say in my house. “God showed up.” Thank you, CAROLYN HEROLD.

The next day, she welcomed and celebrated the Eucharist for two school groups from Bradford, England and a youth group from St. Michaels, Raleigh, NC. These young pilgrims plus a handful of other pilgrims, 48 in total, raised the roof with exuberant intercessions,  sang "Amazing Grace" and "How great Thou Art" in parts from memory, listened to a heartfelt sermon by Mother Carolyn, and passed the peace like they were meeting long lost friends. The Camino had provided. It made me proud of our ministry and hopeful for the future of our church.

As David Brooks said in his 2019 Washington Post article on his Camino experience, “The Camino’s modern popularity should be the greatest occasion for evangelism in centuries.” Clergy and youth group leaders take note.

Three days later, the Immanuel School group came to the Casa for a visit. There was more singing and much eating during which spontaneous prayers were offered for Jack, who had managed to find a date while walking the Camino! It was nice to finally meet Louie Gomez, with whom I have been corresponding for years. It was a wonderful way for the next chaplain Ian Budd and his wife to see what our ministry is about.

Several days ago, our website received a letter from a pilgrim who had come to San Fiz. Below is a portion of her letter:

Subject: Gratitude

Message: Dear Father, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for the kindness and compassion you showed us during our visit to your church yesterday. When we approached you, with our limited English, to ask whether you could bless our friend, you welcomed us with great kindness. Although you were preparing for the service, you asked us to wait for just a few minutes and then generously gave us your time and full attention. That simple act of generosity touched us deeply. We were three friends seeking a moment of peace. The beautiful music, the peaceful atmosphere of the church, and above all your words of comfort made our visit truly unforgettable. Our friend Mapino, who is recovering from cancer, would especially like to thank you for your blessing and your time. She arrived feeling physically and emotionally exhausted, but she left feeling calmer, comforted, and filled with renewed hope. Your words strengthened her faith and gave her courage to continue her path with greater trust. The two of us also felt deeply moved by your closeness, your compassion, and the sense of peace that you radiate. We will always remember this meeting with deep gratitude. Please accept our sincere thanks and best wishes. Warmly, the three friends.

Stories like this are why our ministry exists. Hospitality, healing, hope, love, learning shared by our ecumenical team to every guest who we encounter. To read a reflection from volunteer chaplain Ian Budd, click HERE.

As we celebrate the feast of Santiago de Compostela this year, I want to give special thanks to two of our New York supporters. Mr. G. William Haas, esq. has given money to buy four sets of vestments in the liturgical colors for use at San Fiz. The white set arrived in time for use on Easter Day, the green set has been in use during “ordinary time.” A special red set specially made to commemorate Saint James will be used for the first time next week (images below show the planned vestment with concha and St. James Cross). Also from New York and the Rector of Saint Thomas Church, the Rev. Canon Carl Turner has given us a gold-plated sterling silver chalice and paten made in 1968. Many thanks to both of these friends of the Centre for these gifts and their continued support of our ministry.

If you, your parishioners or your friends are in Santiago, I hope you will stop in at the Casa Anglicana or San Fiz for a cup of coffee, a prayer or a smile.

I end with this prayer which hangs in our breakfast room and is offered as a postcard at San Fiz and sums up the mission of the Friends of the Anglican Pilgrim Centre in Santiago.

As always with thanks for your prayers and your support in time, in talent and in treasure.

Nancy H. Mead, Board President