The Pilgrimage
2020
In 1522, an earthquake devastated the island of São Miguel in the Portuguese Azores Islands, killing thousands and destroying the capital city. In response to this natural disaster, which many thought was punishment for their sins, the men of the island began a pious yearly pilgrimage to circumnavigate the island on foot, stopping along the way to pray at churches and ask for forgiveness, protection and favors from God, for themselves and their fellow parishioners. Five hundred years later, the people of São Miguel continue this tradition in the weeks leading up to Holy Thursday.
Each village sends out a group of men and boys, the “Romeiros” or “pilgrims,” who spend eight days walking clockwise around the over 250 kilometer circumference of the island. Wearing wool shawls and brightly colored scarves, they carry a pack with some food and a change of clothes, a rosary for their neck and one for their hand and a wooden staff. The sound of Hail Marys heralds their approach as they walk two-by-two down winding country roads and through coastal villages, just as their fathers did before them, and their father's fathers and so on.