Psalm 67:7 ". . .let all the ends of the earth revere Him."
As noted before,the Bible verses used here are taken from Forty Days: a devotional companion for the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, using a selection of those verses chosen by Gary T. Johnson.
Today, September 5, 2016, has been a long day. I was up at 4:45am to catch a 6:30 am train that hit a glitch one hour out of Paris (an accident on the tracks) which added an extra 3 hours to my trip plus another 4 waiting for a missed connection.
As a result, I spent some time in Agen, on an alternate pilgrimage route. It has Roman roots, although they cemented over the ruins of the ancient ampitheater... If you recall my mention of Ste. Foy, martyred under the reign of the Emperor Dioclétian in 303 AD along with several others. She was originally buried here and her relics were later taken to Conques. I stopped at the St. Caprais Cathedral for a visit in her memory. There I learned that apparently along with Sainte Foy, Saint Caprais, a bishop in Agen during the early 4th century, was among the early Christian martyrs killed under Dioclétian as well. He was executed just two weeks after the death of Ste. Foy.
The church building itself dates from the 12th century as there are no remaining vestiges of the 4th century one built over the grave of St. Caprais.
Agen became part of the Dukedom of Aquitaine in the 11th century, saw many Cathars burned at the stake a century later, and in the 16th century was the home of Nostradamus, who briefly practiced medicine there.
Although Agen is not on the Le Puy route, it is on the alternate pilgrimage route from Rocamadour, so I felt I had already begun my "pilgrimage" again.
Four hours can be a fair amount of time, though, so I naturally decided to have lunch before venturing out too far. I would eventually make it to my gîte in Moissac in time for dinner, but barely!
