Almost 4,000 pilgrims stayed at Albergue Santa Cruz this year. The Fathers offered them a pilgrim Mass, communal dinners, and spiritual comfort. They've become a landmark of Christian welcome on The Way. It will be tragic to see the albergue close, and the sisters lose a major source of support.
Peaceable supporters get a warm feeling when they step inside the Albergue Santa Cruz in Sahagun... not just because the Marist Fathers are there to greet them, but because the pellet stoves flickering away in the corners were a PPI project a couple of years ago!
Back then, 6,000 euro seemed like a LOT of money to spend to heat up an old convent in a backwater town... but it happened fast! Hundreds of pilgrims in spring and fall curl up near the warmth after a long day of Meseta walking.
I am sad to report the albergue is closing at the end of this week (Oct. 31), and may not open its doors again. This summer, health inspectors from Leon came to test the water at the albergue, and found Legionella bacteria living in the old iron water pipes. Their suggested "solutions" proved painfully expensive and impractical in a pilgrim shelter handling hundreds of pilgrims each week, with an average donation of only 5 euros per head. After trying three different "management plans," the fathers are left with only a "nuclear option:" replace all the iron water supply pipes with brand new plumbing, or shut the place down.
The Benedictine sisters who own the building depend on the albergue rent to meet their own expenses and fulfill their vow of hospitality. Their aging congregation cannot live on their cookie-baking business alone.
The Benedictine sisters who own the building depend on the albergue rent to meet their own expenses and fulfill their vow of hospitality. Their aging congregation cannot live on their cookie-baking business alone. (The sisters live in another wing of the thousand-year-old complex. The health authority doesn't care if their pipes are bad, as they're not open to the public.)
It will cost about 20,000 Euros to replace the albergue plumbing. The Benedictines don't have that kind of cash, and the Marist Fathers spent all their income on staying open this summer. ADESCAS, the local grant-finding group, says No Way. The diocese won't, as the Benedictines are independent. Shaking money out of Patrimonio, the Junta de Castilla y Leon, or the greater Benedictine Order can take years.
Almost 4,000 pilgrims stayed at Albergue Santa Cruz this year. The Fathers offered them a pilgrim Mass, communal dinners, and spiritual comfort. They've become a landmark of Christian welcome on The Way. It will be tragic to see the albergue close, and the sisters lose a major source of support.
Unless some other solution can be found.
And that's where Peaceable Projects comes into its own. We can help.
“A Camino priest passed on two years ago, and remembered PPI in his will. We just received the gift: almost 10,000 euro. Father Gerard would be pleased and proud to support a Marist pilgrim outreach in a Benedictine monastery. I can’t think of a more worthy way to spend his legacy.
Can we raise another 10,000 Euros?”
A Camino priest passed on two years ago, and remembered PPI in his will. We just received the gift: almost 10,000 euro. Father Gerard would be pleased and proud to support a Marist pilgrim outreach in a Benedictine monastery. I can't think of a more worthy way to spend his legacy.
Can we raise another 10,000 Euros?
I asked Marist Father Daniel today: "If we can get you 20,000 euros, will you open the albergue in the Spring?"
"Sure!" he said. "And we could start as soon as possible!"
Let's do this!