Walking the Camino

Arriving in the main square, Santiago

Our Pilgrimage

Pilgrim, who calls you?

What secret power draws you? (Anon.)

Santiago was the destination of one of the great pilgrimages of the Middle Ages. Pilgrims set out from all over Europe and converged as they crossed the Pyrenees and entered Spain. Then the Way of St James led to the great cities of Burgos and Leon and on to the shrine in the Field of the Star (Campus Stellae – Compostela) where the bones of St James were believed to lie and now a magnificent cathedral stands.

In early July, together with my son John, we walked as a group of 24 pilgrims from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain, a distance 70 miles. King Alfonso IX died at Sarria in 1230 while on pilgrimage to the great shrine and his remains lie in the Cathedral of St James the Great. Our walk took us through beautiful undulating Spanish countryside with shady oaks, quiet country roads, sleepy villages with small stone churches and through forest track in the eucalyptus woods.

The Mount of Joy where medieval pilgrims first saw
the spires of Santiago Cathedral

We visited the Romanesque fortress-church of San Nicolas (13 c) in Portomarin. In 1962 the valley was flooded by the creation of the Belesar reservoir. The entire town was moved to higher ground on the west bank. The stones of the façade of the Church of San Pedro (1182) and those of the -church of San Nicolas were numbered to aid reconstruction when the town was moved. At Lavacolla early pilgrims washed themselves in the river before their arrival in Santiago. At the Mount of Joy (Monte Del Gozo), medieval pilgrims first saw the spires of Santiago Cathedral.

Stone carving of Our Lady
Santiago

One of the few carved stone images depicting Our Lady when she was about six months pregnant can be seen decorating an old building in Santiago Old Town. She is shown with her left hand touching her stomach.

In the Middle Ages, Santiago, together with Rome and Jerusalem, were regarded as ‘great pilgrimages’. Santiago was, and still is, one of the largest centres of pilgrimage in the Christian world. The cathedral is the reliquary of the Apostle St James. The first church over the tomb of the Apostle was built by King Alfonso II in around 830-840.

The Apostle James

The Apostle James was one of Jesus’ closest disciples and was present at some significant events in the Gospels including: The Healing of Jairus’ Daughter (Mark 5:21-24a and 35-43); The Transfiguration (Luke 9: 23-36) and in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14: 32-42). He was killed by King Herod. The supposed tomb of St James discovered in 813 led to increase in the number of pilgrims to Santiago and the building of the original church. In 899 a new cathedral was consecrated and in 1075 the second cathedral was begun. The third cathedral was started in 1100. In 1181 a Papal Bull confirmed Santiago’s status as a major pilgrimage site.

After 1300 the number of pilgrims visiting Santiago declined due to the Black Death, wars and schism. In 1879 excavations at the cathedral revealed the reburial site and relics of the Apostle. In 1884 the relics were authenticated by Pope Leo XIII and replaced under the high altar. In 1948 pilgrimage and Holy Year were publicised outside Spain and the number of pilgrims grew. Pope John Paul II visited Santiago in 1982 and again in 1989. Pope Benedict XVI’s official visit to Spain in 2010 began at the cathedral.

Fording a stream in Galicia

My lasting image of the Camino is walking along narrow country lanes, through small stone-walled fields, with a profusion of foxgloves on either side all seeming to point towards Santiago de Compostela. When the Lord scattered those seeds, did He think of a pilgrim like me, I wondered? I would like to think that he did!