Camino journey leads to tears of joy for a couple hoping for a child

Audrey and Kevin Banich of St. Jude Parish in Indianapolis walked the Camino in 2018, hoping God would bless their life journey with a child. (Submitted photo)

(Editor’s note: A record 499,239 pilgrims from all over the world walked the Camino pilgrimage route in northern Spain in 2024. The Criterion has invited people from the archdiocese who have made all or part of that pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain to share how that experience has influenced their life and their faith.)

Third in an occasional series

By John Shaughnessy

Beyond the adventure, some people come with a sense of desperation.

Many come in hope—a hope rooted in their faith in God.

Kevin and Audrey Banich came with a measure of desperation, hope and faith when the young married couple decided to walk El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James) in the spring of 2018.

“The reason my wife and I decided to walk the Camino was because we were struggling with infertility and had come to the point where the only path forward was to surrender it completely to God,” says Kevin, the principal of Roncalli High School in Indianapolis.

“There were no more options available within our Catholic faith. We were coming to terms with the possibility of never having biological children of our own and trying to accept whatever plan God had for us. Because of that, we chose to make a pilgrimage and offer up all of those prayers along the Way.”

For five days during the school’s spring break of 2018, the couple walked along a Camino route in Spain from Sarria to Santiago for 73 miles.

“It was humbling to walk the Camino knowing that pilgrims were coming from all over the world carrying their prayers with them,” says Audrey, a member of

St. Jude Parish in Indianapolis with her husband. “For us, we walked with the weight of infertility on our shoulders.”

James notes, “Along the journey, we lit a candle in every church and chapel from Sarria to Santiago, praying for a child.”

When they reached the shrine of St. James at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, they prayed there, too.

“One of our favorite moments came at the end of the journey—attending Mass at the Cathedral and witnessing the swinging of the botafumeiro [a giant incense thurible that is swung from the ceiling of the cathedral with long ropes],” Kevin says. “To celebrate the Eucharist alongside pilgrims from all over the world was deeply moving.

“It brought us to tears.”

Their tears flowed even more for a different reason in early 2019—tears of complete joy.

“Little did we know that less than a year after completing the Camino, in January 2019, we would welcome our son, James, into the world,” Kevin says. “A Camino miracle? We believe so! That is why he is named after St. James. God answered.”

Audrey adds, “The miracle of our son is proof that the pilgrimage led us exactly where we were meant to be!”

Earlier this year, the couple added to the blessings of their family with the arrival of their daughter Josephine.

“Just as James has his own special story, so does Josephine,” Kevin says. “We chose adoption through

St. Elizabeth [Coleman]. She was born on March 1, and she is such a blessing in our lives that it is impossible to put into words.”

Kevin views parenthood—like a journey on the Camino—as a journey of the heart and the soul.

“Elizabeth Stone once said, ‘Having a child is like having a piece of your heart walking around outside of your body,’ ” Kevin notes. “Being a parent brings an incredible amount of honor, pride, pressure and stress. Every phase of life for a child comes with new milestones, memories and challenges for their parents.

“I always remind our students, parents and even my own family to give each other grace. No one is perfect.

We were called to live a life where faith and growth matter more than perfection—a life that invites us to walk with one another through the hard moments just as much as the joyful ones, drawing closer to Christ each step of the journey.” † 

 

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