Camino Talks with Carmen Marriott and David Donselar – American Pilgrims on the Camino

In this episode of our talk series, we had a Camino Talk with Carmen Marriott and David Donselar. Carmen lives in Tuscon, Arizona and is the Vice-Chairperson of the American Pilgrims on the Camino. She is actively working on supporting various Camino related projects. Both Carmen and David have been on the Camino de Santiago multiple times. David is the Chairperson in the Board of Directors of American Pilgrims on the Camino and lives in Virginia. Due their dedication and pilgrimage experiences, they have great stories to tell.

As an organization, American Pilgrims on the Camino has expanded to 60 chapters, up from 46 just one year ago. The Board of Directors is working closely with the over 100 chapter coordinators to manage that growth. At the same time, they aim to strengthen the bonds of community among pilgrims. 

Dave says: “Given all that is going on this year, I think preparations for the Holy Year take on a whole new level of urgency. As an organization, we’ve reached out to our grant applicants and assured them we’ll continue to be there for them through these tough times. And we’ve received some positive responses that are encouraging as these projects move forward.”

In 2020, the statistic shows that the USA accounted for only 1% of the total number of pilgrims in 2020. American pilgrims such as Dave and Carmen were under-represented in 2020, as US citizens were unable to enter Europe for much of the year.

If you enjoyed this Camino Talk with Carmen Marriott and David Donselar, you might also like our other interviews from the Camino Talk series!