Ten Merrimack College students logged more than 100 miles on foot during a summer 2026 trek from Lisbon, Portugal, north into Spain along the Camino de Santiago, one of the world's oldest Christian pilgrimage routes.

The group walked 15 to 20 miles a day over a week, finishing with a pilgrim Mass at the Cathedral of St. James in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia. It was the North Andover college's fourth summer pilgrimage and its second on the Camino.

"Through this experience, I learned that I am capable of so much more than I originally thought," junior Madelyn Mulhall told Merrimack College. "As long as I put my mind to it, I can accomplish anything."

Mulhall, Class of 2029, is a double major in mathematics and mechanical engineering with a minor in religious and theological studies. She describes herself as an outdoorsy person who enjoys backpacking. One morning during the trek, she was chosen to lead prayer and reflection, reading from a St. James prayer card before the group walked in silence.

Rileigh Armstrong of Campus Ministry, who led the pilgrimage, said the physical journey forced students to slow down and think about the world around them. Walking town to town, she said, is a different way to experience life compared to the scheduled pace of college.

Some students barely knew each other beforehand. Armstrong said they bonded over the shared accomplishment by week's end.

The route followed the Portuguese variant of the Camino, starting in Lisbon and heading north. It included a section called the Spiritual Variant, which took the group off the popular path and through forests and past waterfalls. Merrimack's first Camino pilgrimage, in 2024, followed a different section known as the French Way.

At the Cathedral of St. James, the group witnessed the Botafumeiro, an enormous medieval incense burner that swings the full length of the church. It is brought out only on holy days or when someone makes a donation.

The summer pilgrimage program, rooted in Merrimack's Augustinian Catholic tradition, has sent students to World Youth Day in Lisbon (2023), the Camino's French Way (2024) and the Way of St. Francis from Assisi to Rome (2025). The college announces each new summer pilgrimage in the fall; details for the 2027 trip have not yet been posted.