The Department of Psychology will take a group of students to Spain in 2027 to walk the Camino de Santiago, a historic network of Christian pilgrimages with a final destination being the burial site of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela.

The trip is being organized by Dr. Victor McCracken and Dr. David McAnulty in conjunction with the Office of International Education and Study Abroad. The trip will commence in Madrid, where students will begin their journey, which runs May 15-29. The cost is $4,900, which covers airfare, accommodations and most meals during the two-week trip.

McCracken, professor of ethics and theology in the Department of Bible, Missions and Ministry, believes this trip will allow students to immerse themselves in the rhythm of the pilgrimage.

“There’s kind of a spirituality and rhythm to that kind of long-distance hiking, there’s just so much open space to experience and engage in things in a very deep way,” McCracken said.

The Camino de Santiago has several paths that all reach Santiago de Compostela, where the cathedral containing the remains of St. James is located.

“We’re going to be doing what I would call the heart of the trail,” McCracken said. “Probably the most well-known part, which ends in Compostela at the shrine for Saint James.”

Students who participate in the pilgrimage will earn three credit hours, even though the trip will focus on experiential learning rather than a structured, lecture-driven class. 

Before the trip, students will complete readings to learn more about the spirituality associated with pilgrimage.

“We aren’t intending this to be like, let’s do a class on the trail where we’re all lecturing,” McCracken said. “It really is the experience of pilgrimage and the opportunity to reflect on that experience.”

Christians have practiced pilgrimage for millennia, and the tradition remains significant today, McCracken said.

“The practice of pilgrimage is an ancient Christian practice, the idea of journeying over long distances to a site that is spiritually significant in the Christian tradition,” McCracken said. “And so you’re really participating in an ancient practice whenever you do it.”

Although there will be no specific student capacity, McCracken hopes to bring about 12 students to foster a close-knit community throughout their journey.

“It’s small enough that it’s not overwhelming, but it’s big enough that there’s like a critical mass where we can share the experience together and reflect on what we’re taking from it,” McCracken said.

Anyone interested is encouraged to join, regardless of academic standing.

“We want to make this as accessible as possible,” McCracken said. “I think the experience for its own sake is uniquely valuable.”

The trip will allow students to travel at their own pace, provided they arrive at the designated accommodations by the end of each day. McCracken estimates that students will travel 12 to 14 miles daily, covering about 200 kilometers in total. 

Students will not be required to travel together, although they are welcome to do so. The group will begin each day together before setting off at their preferred pace.

Because the trail is well-traveled, pilgrims have access to an extensive network of services along the route. McCracken said students should not be discouraged by the physical demands of the trip, particularly because they will be able to set their own pace each day.

McAnulty, professor in the Department of Psychology, has hiked the Camino de Santiago three times already and is excited to make that four. The first time that McAnulty traveled the Camino de Santiago, he began in France.

“There’s different routes of the Camino, so you can start from a bunch of different places,” McAnulty said. “In fact, the symbol for the Camino is a shell and it represents all the different routes that go to Santiago.”

The ACU group will travel from Madrid to Ponferrada, Spain, where participants will begin walking the Camino Francés, which McAnulty described as the most popular route. Signs along the trail point travelers toward Santiago de Compostela to help them stay on course.

Students will also receive a tangible record of their pilgrimage through a credential, a document on which they collect stamps from the places they visit along the way. To receive the Compostela certificate, pilgrims must present their stamped credentials at the Pilgrim’s Reception Office in Santiago de Compostela to demonstrate that they have completed at least 100 kilometers of the journey.

As the endowed chair of intercultural and faith integration studies, McAnulty is interested in how pilgrimage affects people. McAnulty wondered if people become happier, more spiritual or more resilient after completing a pilgrimage. Another aspect that interests McAnulty is whether people’s motivations change as they’re on their journey.

“You might think you’re going to do it for religious reasons, and at the end you go, ‘It wasn’t that religious of an experience but, man, I loved meeting people,’” McAnulty said.

McAnulty said the trip fosters human connection, something he has valued during his own pilgrimages.

“You see a lot of the same people and so you hear their story and why they’re doing it and it’s fascinating,” McAnulty said. “People do it for very different reasons.”

The trip will prioritize experiential learning and personal growth over traditional graded coursework.

“I hope that students do walk away with some kind of spiritual, if not spiritual then at least existential, reflection of what they learned about themselves, what they learned about the world, and what they learned about how they interact with other people,” McAnulty said.

McAnulty believes the trip offers students a valuable opportunity during their time at ACU. He said organizing a pilgrimage independently can be difficult, and the university’s structured, professor-led itinerary makes the experience more accessible.

“Is there really a better time to do this? Life does not get less busy once you leave college, right?” McAnulty said. “I’d say this is a more challenging trip to put together by yourself.”

Both McCracken and McAnulty hope that students look into this opportunity that will broaden their perspectives.

“There’s just so much perspective you get about your life whenever you get to connect to something like that,” McCracken said. “So I hope students will give it a look.

For more information, students are encouraged to visit the Study Abroad Office, or reach out to McCracken and McAnulty.