The Holy City Of Santiago De Compostela

Besides Rome and Jerusalem, Santiago boasts of being one of the holy cities where Catholic pilgrims flock to every year for an absolution pilgrimage. This is where the apostle St. James performed his missionary work after the infamous Crucifixion. James, or “Santiago“, was beheaded in Jerusalem but his remains were brought back to Galicia by the other disciples for burial.

Later in 813, his bones were exhumed by a Christian hermit for authentication before placing them in the Cathedral which was built under the orders of King Alphonso II, or otherwise known as Alphonso the Chaste.
There are many routes to enjoy the St. James Pilgrimage Way; you can consider the French route where you enter into Spain through the Pyrenees.

The Northern route enters through the Basque country of Spain whereas the Silver route is via Andalusia in the south. The Portuguese route is via Oporto through Tui, the Galician city. Last but not least is the Maritime way where pilgrims can enter from Europe’s north, via Ferrol or A Coruna. This is also known as the English way.

There is a lot of walking for the pilgrims; the St. James Pilgrimage Way is considered an Appalachian Trail predecessor. Absolution after this discourse is a bonus. To be qualified, you only need to ensure that you must walk the last 100 kilometer, use horse or bicycle for the last 200 kilometer or a small boat for 40 nautical miles or more with a walk to Pontecesures port.

Your pilgrimage ends at Santiago with a ritual of entering the cathedral from Praza do Obradoiro before touching one of the marble pillars and bumping your head with one of the available sculptured figures, followed by facing St. James’ image on the altar and embracing it from behind.

Then, you will descend to the crypt for a viewing of the saint’s silver box that contains his remains. Once these routines are completed, you can proceed to the Pilgrimage Office for your Latin certificate, the La Campostela.

The first 10 pilgrims of the day to receive the La Compostela certificate are privileged to enjoy three meals at the Reis Católicos hostal at Praza do Obradoiro. When you enter the parador, the polite gesture is to enquire of the Pilgrims’ Room.

Usually, Santiago will receive around 600 pilgrims a day who will arrive on foot or by horse. This figure spikes to over 2,700 during the Holy Year; that is when July 25 falls on Sunday to celebrate the Feast Day of St. James.