The path of Álvaro: a teenager’s pilgrimage becomes a source of inspiration for many

(OSV News) — In 2020, young Álvaro Calvente couldn’t contain his excitement. At 15, the disabled teenager from Malaga, Spain, was ready to embark on a parish pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago, the famous pilgrimage route that stretches over 60 miles (96 kilometers) and leads to the tomb of one of the Twelve Apostles, St. James the Greater.

Every year he rejoiced in the annual pilgrimages of young people with his parents, Ildefonso and Raquel, members of the Neocatechumenal Way, and among the adults who accompanied the young people of the parish.

By then, they had already made “four pilgrimages and we always took Álvaro. All the young people in the parish care a lot about Álvaro and he gets along very well with them. And of course, Álvaro is very spiritual; he is always ready and happy for anything related to the church,” his father told OSV News in a telephone interview on July 3.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world and put a stop to all his travel plans. Dismayed but undeterred, the teenager wasn’t going to let a global pandemic stop him.

“One of Álvaro’s great qualities is that he has the memory of an elephant; he doesn’t forget anything,” Calvente says with a laugh. “If you tell him something, you have to do it, because he won’t forget it.”

The lockdown has forced many worshipers to stay home. Calvente has nevertheless been allowed to take daily walks, which has allowed him to “train in the afternoon in case we can go (on a pilgrimage).”

With the easing of travel restrictions later in the year, the situation improved and pilgrimage plans resumed. However, “one by one, young people in the parish started getting sick with COVID, and the pilgrimage was suspended again,” Calvente said.

However, “Alvaro was already determined to move forward, he was unstoppable,” he added.

Calvente spoke with a friend from his parish, Francisco (Paco) Millán, the bus driver of the then-suspended pilgrimage, and asked him if he could accompany them to Santiago de Compostela.

“He said, ‘If it’s for Alvaro, I’ll go anywhere.’ So we went,” Calvente told OSV News.

The day before they left, Calvente’s brother-in-law, Antonio Moreno, a journalist and spokesman for the diocese of Malaga, had an idea.

“And he said, ‘Why don’t you post updates on Twitter for the youth in the parish? Since they can’t go, they can at least follow along,’” Calvente said. “I didn’t get it all, but he said, ‘Well, I’ll do it for you.’”

A greeting from Álvaro, as well as excerpts from a blessing received from their priest, were posted on Twitter and, within two hours, the account had accumulated more than 700 followers.

“That’s something!” Calvente remembers hearing his brother-in-law say.

So Álvaro, Ildefonso and Paco began their pilgrimage, not realizing that the pilgrimage would go viral on Catholic Twitter. “We proposed this trip for the youth of the parish and the pandemic that was happening at that time,” Calvente said. “Everything was guided by God; we just provided the legs.”

This first pilgrimage caused a sensation on social media, with thousands more people following his account “El Camino de Alvaro” (“Alvaro’s Path”) on X (formerly Twitter). As of July 4, his account had more than 4,000 followers.

But nothing had prepared them for the news about one of Alvaro’s best-known disciples: Pope Francis.

During that pilgrimage, Calvente remembers, Álvaro asked for a pizza and, shortly after, he received a phone call.

“We got a call from the Vatican (informing us) that the pope was following Alvaro; his personal secretary called us!” he said. Calvente said he had the secretary’s email address and often sent the pope greetings from Alvaro and his family for Easter, his birthday and Christmas. He didn’t know the secretary would show his messages to Pope Francis.

“You can’t imagine what that meant to us,” he said.

That same year, Pope Francis sent a letter to Álvaro, which Calvente shared with the Diocese of Malaga and which was later published on the diocese’s website.

“Thank you, Alvaro, for being inspired to walk and for inviting so many others to walk with you,” the pope wrote in the letter signed on July 21, 2020. “In the midst of the pandemic we are going through, with your simplicity, your joy and your humility, you were able to set in motion the hope of many people you met on the road or through social networks.”

“You went on pilgrimage and you made many people go on pilgrimage, encouraging them not to be afraid and to find joy, because on the way, one never goes alone. The Lord always walks by our side. Thank you for your testimony and your prayers,” he wrote.

The letter, Calvente told OSV News, was framed and hung prominently in their home.

For Álvaro’s father, the popularity of his son’s pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, now an annual tradition, pales in comparison to the joy of the journey and the time they spend together as father and son.

“He loves it. Besides enjoying it, it’s a very spiritual journey for him. It also brings him a lot, it allows him to get out of the house and the time spent with Álvaro alone, away from his brothers and sisters, is completely different. You get to know Álvaro from a different perspective, you see your son in a different way.”

Calvente told OSV News that he was amazed by the attention the annual pilgrimage receives, not only online but also from people along the Camino de Santiago.

On their way to their fourth pilgrimage to the shrine, this time accompanied by his wife Raquel, Calvente recalls that on the first day they were joined by an ultramarathon runner who “wanted to meet Álvaro, and he accompanied us for the first 20 kilometers, and then he came running back. Can you imagine that?”

“In every village we passed through, the bells rang, the mayors came out to greet us and the whole town was in the streets. I get goosebumps thinking about those people greeting Álvaro in the street.”

On their first stop at the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe in Cáceres, Spain, the family was greeted by Archbishop Francisco Cerro Chaves of Toledo.

During his meeting with the Spanish prelate, Calvente said: “Alvaro gave him a blessing that the archbishop authorized.”

“It was a ‘trending’ topic, or whatever you want to call it,” he said with a laugh.

Then, in Santiago de Compostela, they were welcomed by Archbishop Julián Barrio Barrio, Archbishop Emeritus of Santiago de Compostela, and his successor, Archbishop Francisco José Prieto Fernández.

“I have to say that we are nobody, nor important, but God makes things happen for Álvaro. Even talking to an archbishop, it’s not like I’m calling him and meeting him. But (God) makes everything happen, it’s like: ‘Álvaro wants to see the archbishop. Well, go, go see the archbishop.'”

Continuing the tradition of the first pilgrimage, their intention for this year’s trip was to welcome married couples.

“We saw the need to pray for married couples, especially for our loved ones. So we decided, since my wife was coming, to propose this trip for married couples. We believe that the sacrament of marriage is very important in this desacralized world, where the devil acts openly everywhere. The family is the bulwark against the devil, and the foundation of the family is marriage, and the foundation of marriage is Jesus Christ in the middle of the two,” Calvente said.

The family hopes to one day make a pilgrimage to Rome and finally meet Pope Francis. Calvente told OSV News that a private meeting was planned for the spring. However, “it was postponed due to the war and other issues.”

“Well, God willing, we can do it next year. Let’s see what can be done,” he said.

Junno Arocho Esteves writes for OSV News from Malmö, Sweden.