25 March 2013 – Kevin Kelly, a Jesuit novice from the Jesuit Province of English Canada who is currently doing his ‘Long Experiment’ at AJAN House, writes: This spring, I will be walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela along with my fellow novice, Erik Sorensen, and our novice director of the Canadian Jesuit provinces, Fr Erik Oland SJ.

All members of the Society of Jesus complete a pilgrimage during their novitiate. Since the necessary expenses for the pilgrimage, such as travel, have already been provided, we are looking to raise funds for an organization that we believe represents the values and ideals of this journey. To this end, we have chosen the African Jesuit AIDS Network (AJAN).

The Camino de Santiago (or the Way of St James) is a large network of ancient pilgrimage routes across Europe coming together at the tomb of the apostle St James in Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain. We will be walking the 800km route that begins in France at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, crossing the Pyrenees along the Camino Francés: by far the best-known route to Santiago. This pilgrimage takes the Ignatian pattern as its starting point and during 34 days we will walk an ancient path through the hills of northern Spain dependent on God’s providence and the generosity of others.

The pilgrimage is a critical step in our formation and St Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the order, deemed it necessary that all Jesuits understand the importance of trusting in God and divine providence. To this end, a Jesuit pilgrimage follows the pattern of Ignatius’ own experience of begging for food, shelter, transportation and meeting the kindness of strangers; to search for and hopefully to find “God in all things”.

Each novice’s pilgrimage is unique. The journey depends on the grace for which they are praying in their spiritual life or that they received during the Spiritual Exercises – another critical component of the novitiate program.

We ask for your support as we set out on this experience. Most importantly, we ask for your prayers. If you are able to provide financial support, we would be most grateful. Know that 100% of the funds collected will go to AJAN and their ongoing work in battling HIV/AIDS in Africa. You will also receive a tax receipt for your contributions. Donations can be made through the AJAN website (see below for details).

The goal is to begin our pilgrimage on 23 April 2013 in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and arrive in Santiago de Compostela, God willing, before the end of May. Know that you, AJAN, and those living with HIV/AIDS will be in our prayers during this privileged time. We thank you for your support.

To donate online, please click here

To donate via cheque, please send yours to African Jesuit AIDS Network, P.O. Box 571, Sarit 00606 Nairobi, Kenya

To donate via bank transfer in euros, please use the following details

To donate via bank transfer in US dollars, please use the following details

In some countries, it is possible to make a tax-free donation by donating through our Jesuit partners. To find out more, please fill in and send us this form and we will be in touch with you with more details.

Thank you!