Every summer, Santiago de Compostela welcomes thousands of pilgrims from across the world. Among them, this year was a small group of young Europeans who spent two weeks welcoming pilgrims with a smile, a kind word and, above all, a willingness to listen.

This is the spirit of Apertas, a pastoral initiative born in 2015 from the vision of Sergio García Soto SJ. Its purpose is simple yet deeply Ignatian: to place service at the heart of an experience that brings together prayer, formation and community. In 2026, Apertas took a new step by becoming part of Magis Euro Summer, the European initiative promoted by the Conference of European Provincials alongside other experiences in Norway, Italy and Croatia.

The first European edition brought together four Jesuits, two of them novices, and six young people from Spain, Belgium, Slovakia, the United Kingdom and Finland. Together, they discovered that welcoming others can also become a way of being welcomed, and that the Camino can be both an outward journey and an inward one.

The heart of the experience was the Pilgrim Welcome Office of the Cathedral of Santiago. There, participants helped welcome pilgrims, assisted with the distribution of the Compostela, took part in conversations with people arriving from around the world and helped lead a short midday prayer, inviting pilgrims to reflect spiritually on what they had experienced along the Camino.

Their service also took them beyond the world of pilgrims. Each day, they volunteered at the Cocina Económica, run by the Daughters of Charity, helping prepare and serve meals to people experiencing vulnerability. The contrast between these two settings broadened their understanding of what it means to welcome and accompany others.

For Jelena Vanhollebeke, the experience confirmed something she had long sensed: “Connecting with others through stories, emotions and laughter fills me with energy.” For Estefanía Cazorla, the experience gradually offered an even deeper insight. Asked what Apertas was about, she came to realise that it was not so much about “doing”, but about being present.

Sometimes that presence meant helping a pilgrim who struggled to communicate in a foreign language. At other times, it meant quietly serving a meal or simply listening without rushing to someone who needed to tell their story. In these encounters, participants discovered that service transforms not only those who are welcomed, but also those who do the welcoming.

The rhythm of each day helped them connect service with prayer and reflection. Mornings began with prayer and concluded with the Ignatian examen, while afternoons were devoted to formation in Ignatian spirituality and theology, personal prayer and discernment. In the Magis circle, participants shared what they were discovering through their service, prayer and life together. The Eucharist remained at the centre of the day, followed by the evening prayer vigil at the Cathedral.

Living and praying together also became an important part of the experience. Participants who had barely known one another before arriving in Santiago gradually formed a community in which cultural differences became a source of enrichment rather than division.

For Terézia Štefancová, who came to Santiago at a moment of transition after completing her university studies, Apertas offered precisely the space she was looking for. She hoped to reflect more deeply on her life and its direction, and discovered the value of being part of a community that welcomed both one another and the pilgrims. “I learned the importance of living in the present, with an open heart to whatever comes,” she reflected, “while walking the path of life with trust and surrender to God.”

For Alex Burt-Tejedor, who grew up in a non-Catholic family and had limited contact with the Church, Apertas Europe became an opportunity to continue an emerging spiritual journey. “The experience helped me deepen my faith, living it in community and through service and welcoming pilgrims,” he shared. Listening to the stories of people from around the world gave him “more confidence and courage to continue exploring my spirituality.”

David Caicedo, who had been involved with the Jesuits and Magis communities since adolescence, arrived in Santiago with high expectations — and found that the experience surpassed them. “The Camino is not only external, but also internal,” he concluded. “Serving in community is very powerful.”

These testimonies capture something at the heart of Magis Euro Summer: the invitation to discover God not only in prayer or explicitly religious experiences, but in the ordinary encounters, relationships and acts of service that make up our lives.

By bringing Apertas into the European Magis network, the Camino de Santiago becomes a space for encounter across cultures, discernment and shared faith. It offers young people from different European countries an opportunity to serve together, learn from one another and discover that the journey towards God often begins by simply opening the door to another person.

Apertas Europe was made possible through the collaboration of the Conference of European Provincials, Magis Spain, Colegio Mayor San Agustín, the Pilgrim Welcome Office, the Cocina Económica of Santiago de Compostela and the Cathedral of Santiago.

In the end, the most meaningful “Compostela” may not be the document received at the end of the Camino, but what remains in the hearts of those who discover that service rooted in faith and lived in community transforms both the one who welcomes and the one who is welcomed.

Antonio Fco. Bohórquez SJ