WINDSOR TERRACE — If the longest journey begins with a single step, then Father John Hwang has taken a lot of steps — and a lot of journeys.  

This summer, for the fourth time, he completed a 500-mile trek on foot.  

Father Hwang, who serves as master of ceremonies for Bishop Robert Brennan, spent the month of August walking the famous Camino de Santiago in Spain with two friends. He said he came away from the experience with a deep gratitude for his life as a priest. 

“It made me feel how lucky I am to have the life I have and that God called me to this life,” said Father Hwang, who was ordained in 2017 and served as pastor of St. Anselm Church in Bay Ridge before Bishop Brennan appointed him to his new post in June, which entails coordinating liturgies Bishop Brennan celebrates in the churches he visits.  

One of the most famous religious pilgrimages in the world, Camino de Santiago is a network of routes throughout Spain that all lead to the same destination — Santiago de Compostela, a city in northwest Spain that is home to a cathedral of the same name, where the remains of St. James are believed to be buried. 

RELATED: Former Tablet Paper Boy Walks the Camino

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims venture to Spain each year to walk all or part of the Camino de Santiago.  

Counting his August pilgrimage, Father Hwang has walked it four times. 

This summer, he and his friends walked the most common of the routes, called Camino Francés, a trek that covers an arduous 500 miles from its starting point at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, a town on the border between France and Spain, to its endpoint in Santiago de Compostela. 

Logging approximately 15 miles a day and periodically stopping to rest, they completed the journey in 30 days. Despite the heavy mileage, Father Hwang did not pack an extra pair of shoes.  

“I didn’t need them. One pair was fine,” he said. “And I packed only what I needed in my backpack,” including the most important item — a stole that he wore to celebrate daily Mass.  

Some parts of the pilgrimage were harder than others, he said. One section, Castilla-La Mancha in central Spain, is a hot and dry region that can be challenging to navigate.  

“It’s really a huge region that’s so dry, and you will find no shade, nothing,” Father Hwang said. “It could be very tough. It’s like the wilderness. But then the fact that you are walking with your friends, that helps a lot.” 

RELATED: Companions on Camino Move From Brokenness to Brotherhood

Father Hwang said walking also gave him time to ponder things, especially what the pilgrimage itself meant. 

“It’s a story of life itself. It’s our life, our faith, our search for God,” he said. “People start from different starting points on this pilgrimage, but we’re all heading to the same place.  

“In that same way, every human life begins from a different point and we are all heading to the same destination — the kingdom of God.”  

When he finally reached the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, he recalled a feeling of euphoria. It wasn’t his first time. He first walked the Camino de Santiago in 2016, during his summer break from studies at St. Joseph Seminary and College.  

“I thought it could be a great opportunity for myself to deepen my faith and my vocation,” he recalled. 

Father Hwang walked the route two more times after that, including a pilgrimage he led for a group of young people from the Diocese of Brooklyn after attending World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2023. 

His advice for anyone considering it?  

“The most important thing is to pack light,” he said. “That’s a life lesson, too. The heavier the backpack, the harder the road in our life is.”