After a year of being kept off the Way of St. James due to pandemic-related travel restrictions, soul-searchers hoping to heal wounds left by the coronavirus are once again strapping on backpacks and following trails to the shrine in the city of Santiago de Compostela.

A special prayer was held for France and for the more than 200 people killed by "the blind violence of terrorism" in Islamic extremist attacks over the past year and a half, including a priest whose throat was slit last month.