Hallmark’s ‘Journey To You’: A Pilgrimage … To Romance

On Saturday, April 19 — Holy Saturday — Hallmark Channel premieres Journey to You, starring fan favorite Erin Cahill as a woman walking the Camino de Santiago, the Way of St. James.

It’s one of the channel’s DaySpring movies, tied to Hallmark’s Christian-based DaySpring card line, and there is a DaySpring devotional connected to the movie.

In recent years, Hallmark has endeavored to align its TV identity more closely with its various card lines and retail business, and this is one more example of that.

What Happens in Journey to You?

Cahill plays Monica, an overworked nurse practitioner in a busy hospital, who learns that she’s missed out on a promotion.

After a chat with a work pal (which looked to be played by Amber Shana Williams, who plays Tamar in The Chosen), and then her own mom, she decides to take her mother’s advice to follow in her footsteps and walk the Camino.

Apparently, Monica’s parents met on the Catholic pilgrimage route, which goes from various starting points in Europe and ends at the the Cathedral of Santiago — formally called the Metropolitan Archcathedral Basilica of Santiago de Compostela — a shrine in Galicia, Spain, housing the relics of Apostle St. James the Great.

Along the way — as is the wont of Hallmark films — she meets a handsome dad named Luis (Erik Valdez), who’s walking with his father and teen son. In a bit of a twist, he’s divorced, not widowed. He has roots in Spain, and as might be expected, Luis and Monica form a romantic connection.

There’s some personal reflection for Monica, and a tiny bit of conflict (never too much) between father and son, but it all rolls toward an unsurprising happy ending.

Journey to You makes good use of its Spanish locations, indoors and out, and the local culture.

Talking to Erin Cahill

I had a chat with Cahill, who actually did quite a bit of walking during filming. Being a practical sort, I asked about footwear. Cahill said that she’d recently worn her own hiking and camping gear to work with her husband to build a school.

She recalled,

“The amazing part, and I was just saying in another interview that there were so many divine things about me doing this movie. So I literally, like six days after I got home, left my own backpack, my own hiking boots, my own gear, the water bottle, the carabiners, all the stuff. And then I went and got it on set in Spain, and I was like, ‘What?'”

In between the budding romance and the local color, Journey to You is sprinkled with appearances by the devotional and brief talks about God and prayer.

Cahill’s character appears to be Christian, but not Catholic. The Spanish characters might be Catholic, but it’s hard to tell.

I asked Cahill about the different people who do the Camino, and she said,

“It’s come to mean different things, which I think is so beautiful.

“And I think it’s so beautiful that it’s something that’s stuck, because so many things, I just feel like we’re moving quickly, and the fact that the Camino is still around … with these little tiny inns that were made just for the pilgrims and places that only the pilgrims can walk. It’s really wild.

“And then parts of it are completely tucked into modern Spain and the modern world. So, it’s a really wild dichotomy in some places.”

Today’s Camino Is Not Always Catholic or Even About Christ

Near the end of the film, Monica and her fellow walkers do arrive at the Cathedral de Santiago, or at least its courtyard. Nobody goes in. Actually, no one goes inside any churches in the course of the film.

Obviously, the Camino long ago stopped being just a Catholic thing. Somebody asked me today why non-Catholics do it and, one supposes you’d have to ask them.

I did check in with Grok, X’s AI, and here’s the answer it gave me:

Data is sparse on exact numbers, but anecdotal evidence from Camino forums and hostel logs suggests non-Catholic pilgrims (including atheists, agnostics, and other faiths) make up a significant portion of the 300,000+ annual walkers, especially since the route’s modern revival in the 1980s.

The Camino’s Catholic core — linked to St. James’ shrine in Santiago — remains, but its universal appeal lies in its flexibility, letting each pilgrim define their purpose.

Moving on from the Cathedral, the true Christian heart of the Camino, Journey to You pursues Monica’s journey of self-discovery, which ultimately leads to a windswept cliff over the ocean.

Cahill recalled,

“It was so cold. It was literally one of the most beautiful special experiences of my life. And I was cold for an entire month, but worth it.”

So, Journey to You has spiritual, even Christian overtones (though Jesus isn’t mentioned), but it’s by no means Catholic. Not surprising but still faintly disappointing. But, it’s a pleasant film with an uplifting message.