The Religious Face Of Santiago De Compostela
Spanish wisdom and holiness
Spain is one of the three countries in the world that has a holy city; Santiago de Compostela proudly occupies a holy place together with Rome and Jerusalem as Saint James (which in Spanish is translated as Santiago) lived a big part of his life here and did missionary work.
The legend of the Spanish holy city is not complicated: after Jesus Christ was crucified, Saint James chose Galicia to do his missionary work. Because the Christian religion was not recognized during those times, Saint James was beheaded in the Holy Land but his remains were taken to Galicia by the ones who followed and believed him.
It seems like he was buried there, but his remains were discovered in 813 by a Christian hermit. During his rule, King Alphonso II ordered the construction of a church on the place where the remains of Saint James were discovered. It is this church, now an imposing Cathedral that attracts pilgrims from all over the world in their attempt to find redemption.
All roads lead to Santiago de Compostela
The famous and popular Way of Saint James that ends in Santiago de Compostela unites a series of other religious routes: the French Way, the route that comes to Spain crossing the Pyrenees, the Silver Route that connects Galicia and Andalusia,
the Northern Route that comes from the Basque country, the Maritime Routes that take pilgrims from Northern Europe to the holy city and last but not the least, the Portuguese Way that comes from Oporto. People have followed these routes for centuries in their holy trip to Santiago de Compostela.
Some of the pilgrims take the decision to walk the entire route, which usually takes them about two weeks. However, you should know that this is not a rule: you can walk only the last 100 kilometers or horse ride along the last 200 kilometers.
It is the idea and the intention that matters for the entire concept of the pilgrimage. What you have to keep in mind is that in Santiago de Compostela, you are not alone. Around 600 pilgrims arrive to the Cathedral on a daily basis and if it happens to be a Holy Year (that is the 25th of July, the day that celebrates Saint James falls on a Sunday), the number can go high up to 2700 pilgrims. That is impressive, isn’t it?