‘Mom always knows best’ is even true for a woman walking the Camino

Mike and Rebecca Kirsch, center, pose with their new friend Kathy outside of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain after they complete their Camino journey in 2025. (Submitted photo)

(Editor’s note: A record 499,239 pilgrims from all over the world walked the Camino route in northern Spain in 2024. The Criterion has invited people from the archdiocese who have made all or part of that pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain to share how that experience has influenced their life and their faith.)

Ninth in an occasional series

By John Shaughnessy

It was another one of those moments that supports the belief that “mom always knows best.”

Even thousands of miles from her home in Indiana, Rebecca Kirsch tapped into her maternal instincts during a defining moment in Spain as she and her husband Mike made their 160-mile Camino pilgrimage from Pamplona to Santiago de Compostela in 2025.

“There was a young German gentleman, Fabian Ackerman, who happened upon us as we were saying our daily rosary along the trail,” says Rebecca, a member of St. Bartholomew Parish in Columbus along with Mike. “He asked if he could join in, and he walked with us the rest of the day even though he was younger and much fitter. After seeing my rosary app, he was motivated to download a German app so he could learn the rosary.

“He also planned to call his mom that night—after this mother of two sons asked him when he last spoke to his mom.”

And just as Rebecca helped the young man focus more clearly on the Blessed Mother and his own mother, other pilgrims helped the couple embrace their faith deeper too.

“There was the fellow Midwesterner, Paul from St Louis, who presented Mike with a beautiful crucifix distributed by the ‘Men of the Cross,’ ” Rebecca says, referring to the ministry that promotes wearing a crucifix as a badge of a person’s true identity as a child of God.

“Mike had seen Paul the day before and commented on the beauty of the crucifix. We hadn’t made plans to connect, but there he was at the Chapel of the Virgin Pilgrim in Pontevedra at the same time we were, with a brand-new crucifix to share. The Men of the Cross delight in sharing these crucifixes with others along the Way. I have always worn a cross daily as a way to witness. Now Mike is sporting a crucifix which creates additional opportunities to share our faith.”

Their sharing of faith with other pilgrims also included a woman in her 70s traveling alone on the Camino.

“Kathy was very special to us,” Rebecca notes. “She started the Camino in 2024 but was unable to finish it, so she came back to do so. Kathy was the first person we met as we started our journey. Imagine our surprise when she kept popping up again and again—in a market, at a beautiful village along the Way, on the trail, and ultimately at the pilgrim Mass at the cathedral on our last day of the trip.

“With thousands of pilgrims crammed into every nook and cranny of the cathedral, we found Kathy. She was excited to see us, share an embrace and exchange a story or two. So, there we were with our new friend, just steps away from the mortal remains of one of Jesus’ closest friends, St. James.

“I could go on and on, but to sum up the beauty of the Camino for us, it is all about sharing your faith with fellow pilgrims who started the day as strangers but ended the day as friends.”

Another powerful impact of their pilgrimage was the deepening of the couple’s shared faith and relationship.

 “Time and perspective created the ultimate faith-filled adventure,” she says. “We took 15 days to complete [the journey] and enjoyed every minute of it. Even the one day when the heavens opened and didn’t close till evening, our spirits were never dampened. OK, I might have been a little cranky, but we found ourselves singing on the trail even as the rain was pouring down.”

They also lifted their voices to God in prayer.

“While we prepared for the Camino physically, we also prepared spiritually. Mike and I asked friends and family for their needs for themselves and their loved ones, and we created a comprehensive prayer list which we prayed every evening on the Camino.

“I consider myself and Mike very devoted to our Catholic faith. However, we had never prayed the rosary together before, except at funerals or organized church events. Praying the rosary together each day deepened our faith. It was particularly powerful for Mike, who didn’t grow up Catholic but later converted, and it was special for me to share this part of our faith with Mike.”

Rebecca believes their entire pilgrimage of 15 days was all part of God’s plan for the couple.

“The pilgrimage for us was about the people,” she says. “There were the new people we met and the people back home we were praying for.

“It is also about deepening your faith with your spouse, who has always been my best friend and is now a fellow pilgrim. It’s great when you get to describe the faith-filled impact of the Camino to others, but sharing it with your spouse is a special gift to each other.” †