October 2025

It was July 10, 1434 when noble knight Don Suero took up the challenge to defend his honor in the ancient town of Hospital de Òrbigo. After being rejected by a fair maiden, he challenged to joust any knight daring to pass him across the famed arched bridge, now a 13th century Roman artifact that crosses the River Òrbigo. To restore his honor to the fair maiden, Don Suero needed to defeat every knight’s attempt to cross the river for a month, as well as win at least three hundred lances. Knights all across Europe took up the challenge. Knight after knight met their doom under Suero’s brave determination and jousting expertise. He collected the quota of lances and was celebrated for regaining his honor.

Leòn has bragging rights to the ancient Roman wall. This city’s name is a derived from a hybrid of Rome’s legions who were encamped here in addition to the Spanish word for lion. The spider web of short, disconnected streets meet at the town’s central, stunning structure, Cathedral of Leòn, also known as “House of Light.” It is a jaw-dropping, stop-you-in-your-tracks, inspiring French-Gothic architectural wonder dating back to the early 1300’s. Situated in the center of a large town square with broad expanses of open sidewalks, its spires and columns stretch thirty meters (one hundred feet) and covers a thousand eight hundred square meters (roughly nineteen thousand three hundred square feet). The sheer size causes one to crane their neck painfully.

We are all pilgrims.
That’s what I like to believe, that each of us is on a journey to a holy place.

For me, part of that journey took me across mountains to Santiago on the famed Camino de Santiago. But more than the miles I walked, it was the lessons in faith along the way that shaped me.