Planning the Via Lemovicensis, or, We’ll Never Have Paris

Next year, I plan to walk a long Camino for Francine. Some background is probably in order.

At the annual Gathering of Pilgrims back in 2022, Francine attended a talk on one of the four main Camino routes in France: the Voie de Vézelay, also known as the Via Lemovicensis. She was immediately smitten with this route. For one thing, it passes through the city of Nevers in France, which is where Saint Bernadette is entombed. Bernadette was Francine’s confirmation Saint.

When we were first dating, I would occasionally call her Bernadette to wind her up, but she eventually convinced me to knock it off. Imagine my surprise as she lay in hospital, having just received her diagnosis, and telling me to make sure that the name Bernadette is on her tombstone.

There were other reasons she was intrigued by this route, ranging from the mystical to the mundane (it’s relatively flat, at least until you reach the Pyrenees) to the literary (it passes through the city of Bergerac).

She was absolutely passionate about walking this route. Unfortunately, it is very long, about 1,100 km to the Spanish border, plus another 800 km from there to Santiago. We had planned to break it up into three-week chunks and complete it over the course of several years.

This had an added benefit: Paris. 

Francine was absolutely obsessed with everything Parisian. She made me promise very early in our marriage that we would visit Paris at some point, preferably more than once. The closest we’ve ever gotten was Francine’s manic layover during our first Camino. But the gateway to the Vézelay is Paris. We were looking at the prospect of spending a couple of days in Paris every year for several years. She was over the moon with this idea.

But now, of course, we will never have Paris.

Amongst the things that Francine, on her sick bed, had me solemnly promise was that I would complete all of the adventures that we had planned to do together. The Vézelay was at the top of the list. I was of a mind to do it all in one go, both to honor the promise, but also to walk the Camino vicarie pro for her, meaning that all of the graces and indulgences attached to the pilgrimage would be hers rather than mine.

I wasn’t really sure how this could possibly work, but after praying on this for quite some time, suddenly all the pieces began to fall in place, from my job to a million personal details.

One thing that particularly struck me as I was noodling around was that if I flew to Europe on Easter Sunday – which was our custom for spring Caminos – then there was a real possibility that I would be walking into Santiago on June 21, the first anniversary of Francine’s death.

And Lord knows I need a long Camino to process everything that’s happened.

So, although I haven’t purchased plane tickets yet – we’re still a little way away from the optimal timeframe for that – my plan is now to walk the Vézelay next spring. 

Training must begin in earnest if I’m to have any hope of completing it successfully.

Before she fell ill, Francine and I were walking one of our “virtual Caminos“, plotting our daily hikes to the Camino route we were planning on walking. I restarted this after the funeral, and so far I haven’t made very much progress – I’m on day seven of the actual Camino, despite having started tracking in July.

Nevertheless, on Sunday, I found myself at REI buying new socks. This is the infallible sign that I have mentally committed to this. Please pray for me, and pray for the repose of Francine’s soul as I dedicate this to her.