March 2026 Newsletter
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Rhode Island, where we are buried under 35” inches of new snow and under a statewide driving ban. Maybe show shoveling can qualify as a Lenten discipline.
I want to begin by thanking each one of you who contributed to the Christmas appeal. Your response was overwhelming. New mattresses and bedding are on their way and one by one the windows will be replaced. I thank you. Our guests thank you. Our pilgrims thank you.
New Board Members
At our annual board meeting in December, we elected two new board members, Roxanne and Matthew Melchiori. Roxanne is a partner with a Rhode Island CPA firm. She specializes in helping small business start-ups and is a nationally recognized QuickBooks expert. Matt is an entrepreneur, builder, and engineer who recently retired as owner of Narragansett Dock Works. Both are lovers of Spain, the Camino, Casa Anglicana, and both see the value of supporting our project financially. We look forward to Matt bringing his tools and creativity to the Casa and to Roxanne helping Edie keep our financial records in good order.
Casa Anglicana del Peregrinos
Our third year at Casa Anglicana and our first at San Fiz are finished. Bishop Carlos Lopez Lozano, in his annual report to the board, highlighted our year in Santiago and included statistics from 2025 that more than 8,000 people—both pilgrims and visitors—passed through the Anglican Pilgrims’ House. You can read more at this link.
The Casa has been closed since mid-December, and the long awaited renovations are well underway. Starting from the top down, the builders have been hard at work adding bathrooms to each of the rooms. Creative use of the now unneeded shared bathrooms has resulted in two new bedrooms, an office and a supply room. Those of you who stayed in the two rooms with the smallest bathrooms in Santiago if not in Spain, will appreciate the new larger bathrooms. On the stairway, the chipped plaster has been removed, exposing beautiful stonework underneath
Little Roses Library a Reality
The library in honor of Our Little Roses Home in Honduras will be relocated to a more accessible location in the Casita behind the garden. There, it will provide a welcome space for reading, study and private conversation. When Casa Anglicana reopens in mid-March, we will welcome our guests with pride that our goal of having all our rooms ensuite has been met, and with thanksgiving to each one of you who helped us to make it all possible.
A Full Chaplains’ Rota for 2026
On March 15, our first chaplains for the 2026 season will be in residence and daily services will begin at San Fiz. They will continue for 35 weeks until mid-November. From more than 40 applications, we have put together a rota of clergy from various denominations, geographical locations and clerical orders. Priority was given to new applicants, those who have walked the camino, and those who were proficient in Spanish or some other language. This year our chaplains will be able to communicate with pilgrims in Spanish, Dutch, French. German, Japanese and Korean. A list of the chaplains for 2026, and a way to contact them, may be found at this link.
Winter in Spain
There are not many pilgrims’ groups walking the Camino in the winter but Father Joaquim Hyeon Ho Kim from the Anglican Church of Korea and some of his parishioners walked the Camino in February. They arrived in Madrid where they were welcomed by Bishop Carlos and given a pilgrim blessing. They then walked from Sarria to Santiago where they were met in Santiago by Mother Adeli from Vigo, and fellow countryman Daniela (Munhee Kim),a Presbyterian missionary with WEC and one of our faithful volunteers.
Prior to coming to Spain, Daniela spent nine years in Canada, living and working in a halfway house for women newly released from prison and helping with their AA program. This year, she will direct twice weekly AA meetings at San Fiz in both English, Spanish, and if needed, Korean. Thank you, Daniella, for continuing this important ministry, begun two years ago by Brenda Barnes.
As many of you know, my husband and I spent two weeks over Christmas in Spain. The highlight of our stay in Santiago was the enormous Belén (creche), which stretched down the entire side wall of San Fiz. Set up by renowned belénista, José Uzal, and sponsored by the Santiago Tourist Board, the Archdiocese, and the Abastos Market, it features over five hundred figures, buildings, electrical mechanics, illumination and running water.
Belénes are a beloved Spanish Christmas tradition. Churches, government buildings, private companies, and stores set up displays with hundreds of figures, buildings, landscaping and mechanical wonders. Day and night, people go from place to place visiting these works of devotion, often standing in long lines to view them. Like the interiors of so many churches on the camino, they are a visual expression of the Biblical story from the exodus to the resurrection.
Episcopal Parish Network and Upcoming
This year, board members Edie Morrill, John Beddingfield, Anita Miner, Greg Foraker and I will all be at the Episcopal Parish Network Conference in Charlotte, NC, March 3-6. Come and visit us at booth 75 next to Insiders Camino at Booth 74. We have shells, tee shirts and chocolates. Edie and I will head to Santiago from March 23-31 to do some work at the Casa, and I will be sharing our vision at John’s Church in Savannah Sunday, April 19. If anyone of you is in the area, we’d love to see you.
Pilgrims rarely go to Santiago or Spain in the winter, but I will close with a couple of pictures why you might consider it. No crowds, beautiful everything, same delicious food and Turron!
Looking forward to Spring. Contact us if you or your group is walking the Camino or visiting Santiago de Compostela. Come and visit us at Casa Anglicana and San Fiz and let us know if we can help you in any way. As always, thank you for your prayers and for your support.
