0: Welcome to the Sacred Steps Podcast

SACRED STEPS PODCAST | EP0: Trailer

Buen Camino pilgrims and welcome to the Sacred Steps Podcast. I'm Kevin Donahue, Pilgrim, backpacker, and author

On this program, we're walking virtually alongside pilgrims and authors, sharing their stories and connecting a global community of pilgrims to many of the world's most revered footpaths, including the Camino de Santiago, the Via Francigena, Englands Pilgrim's Way, and many others.

If you're already familiar with podcast, please go ahead and do all the things. Hit the subscribe button on your podcast app and leave a comment on a story or walk that you'd like to see featured on an upcoming episode. We stream new episodes of the podcast twice monthly in two formats. The audio podcast, which you're listening to now, and our video podcast streaming on YouTube.

Regardless of the format you choose, you'll find all of the notes from our discussions pinned below in the show notes, making it easy for you to click and experience the routes we're discussing, or to connect directly with our guests.

I started this podcast during the toughest days of the COVID pandemic because I felt disconnected from my pilgrim family and wanted a way to hear their stories once more. In the following seasons, you’ll find interviews with pilgrims and authors who share their pilgrimage experiences. Our conversations include discussions their walks and routes, memorable moments, what called them to pilgrimage and what they have taken away from that experience. Some of our guests are well known in the Pilgrim community. Others will be names that you don't know yet, but whose stories I think you'll really connect.

One thing you see on Pilgrim routes, whether you're walking to Santiago de Compostela, Jerusalem, Rome, or anywhere, really is a human connection that transcends language or culture. Those knowing smiles and nods, a communal meal or a long walk shared on our way, we are all equal. We walk, we. We cry, we pray, we, we feel broken and restored and renewed. And through all of that, and this is really the interesting part for me, we find that we are truly one global pilgrim community.

The good folks at Apple Podcast tell us that we’re now streaming in more than 50 countries, so I hope you'll subscribe to the podcast and share in this greater community of pilgrims from around the world walking together virtually, taking these sacred steps.

Quickly about me. I'm Kevin Donahue. My journeys include several Camino de Santiago walks, the Via Francigena to Rome, the Pilgrims Way from London to Canterbury, and sections of the California Missions Trail as well as the Way of St Cuthbert to Holy Island. I’m broadcasting from our Chez Mer Studios in Florida, where I live with my wife, son, and our dogs. Walking these routes and sharing stories with pilgrims has prompted a lot of reflection and introspection…. and so I’ve also undertaken my first two books about pilgrimage:

The first is called THE PILGRIMS TABLE. It’s the story of five pilgrims who come together over dinner in an albergue at the end of the Camino de Santiago. They share stories and a memorable meal with their host. The book draws from my own experience and those that have been shared with me along my journeys. Maybe you have a story just like those in my first book, The Pilgrims Table.

My second book is actually non-fiction that follows my journeys as a somewhat reluctant pilgrim, walking these routes at the crossroads of history and faith. The book is SACRED STEP: A PILGRIMAGE JOURNAL. I wanted to give the context to the pilgrims who have walked before me as I follow in their footsteps to find questions and enlighten answers to the eternal questions of faith, hope, and love.

I feel as if I still have miles to go, quite literally, before my story is complete, but I'm looking forward to sharing those steps with you on this podcast. If you're planning to walk a pilgrimage or you've already returned, I'd love to connect with you and hear more about your journey. You’ll find the links to our website and social media in the show notes on your podcast app. I hope we can stay connected along the way. The website - sacred steps podcast dot com - also has all of our episodes sorted by the journey, so if there’s a specific route you're interested in, such as Japan’s Kumano Kodo or Spain’s Camino de Santiago, you can easily find those episodes regardless of the season.

Thank you for subscribing to the Sacred Steps Podcast. Please hit the subscribe button on your app so that our future episodes will be available to you automatically. I’m Kevin Donahue. I can’t wait to hear your story and to share these pilgrimage stories with you.

Until next time, be well, stay safe, and buen camino.