Twenty people participate in an experiential course to discover the Way of St. James

Some twenty students and academics from Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom and Poland participated in the course 'Pilgrimage of a Human Life: Experiential Learning on the Camino de Compostela'. This course, which took place in May 2025, was organized by the University of Saint Paul (Canada) with the partnership of the research group 'Bonds, Creativity and Culture' of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra.

The participants - among them the President of Saint Paul University, Patrick Leroux - focused on the Navarre part of the Camino de Santiago where, during ten days, they reflected on the concept of pilgrimage with an interactive and experimental approach . This course has introduced them to the socio-cultural narrative of the pilgrims' workshop in Navarra.

Students have been able to experience the Camino live to understand the meaning, purpose and power of pilgrimages from a wide range of disciplines: architecture, local businesses, Public discourse, music, history and myths, art, culture, multimodality and figurative language.

The pilgrimage began in San Juan Pie de Puerto (France) and then entered Navarre through Roncesvalles and crossed into Aragon, visiting Sos del Rey Católico, and ended in Pamplona, passing through historic sites such as Leyre, Javier, Artajona or Puente la Reina. Some of the topics covered in situ in the course were: the Camino de Santiago and its history, history of pilgrimage and hospitality, history of Navarra, monastic life, St. Francis Xavier, the Jesuits and colonialism, Romanesque art, Roman settlements in Navarra, the cathedral and walls of Pamplona and sacred music, among others.

According to Inés Olza, principal investigator of the group 'Vínculos, creatividad y cultura' (VCC), this course has been an opportunity to think from different disciplines about how to mediate and heal the tangible and intangible heritage around the Camino de Santiago. For the expert, these initiatives offer an opportunity to "reflect on how experiential courses like this one, around this rich and complex heritage, can contribute to rethink and generate links between the present and the past". Along with her, the researchers of the group VCC who were part of the course faculty were Nieves Acedo, Anna Dulska, Adriana Gordejuela, Julia Pavón and Albert Recasens. 

This project has also opened the door to new collaborations with the Canadian center. The course was organized position Anna María Moubayed, professor and manager of strategic projects at Saint Paul, who had previously carried out an extended research stay at the ICS. The researcher has shown her interest in maintaining a close partnership with the University of Navarra to promote more experiential courses, not only around the Way of St. James but also around European art and heritage.

During the course, the Chapter Library of the Cathedral of Pamplona was visited.