Xacobeo 2010 Camino de Santiago of Galicia

The Holy Year is about to start again is a wonderful opportunity to rediscover Galicia but also other communities which term commences some of the many paths to Santiago being busy for a thousand years. It’s also time for the encounter with oneself, regardless of religious motivations that may have, to discover nature, culture and gastronomy.

In just a few days start Compostela Holy Year 2010, the second of this century and last until held again in 2021. Again, as for centuries, this event will meet again in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe to pilgrims and travelers, but also, as from the early Middle Ages, will convene students, artists, rogues, merchants, nobles and commoners.

The plans of the Xunta de Galicia and the Company of the Jacobean Xestión are very ambitious. The Plan is a promotional project Jacobean cultural and focuses on culture Santiago and the Camino de Santiago with an openness to contemporary culture, respectful of the past, to boost and revitalize the major routes and their natural, scenic, cultural and economic .

Weird initiatives

Parallel to the formal proceedings, have been a number of private initiatives that will make a more participatory and Jacobean singular. For example, to stimulate one of the magical and mystical experiences that you may experience a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago and is the contemplation of the Milky Way on a summer night, the Spanish astronomers want to release the Camino de Santiago from light pollution. According to legend, in the ninth century a flood of stars pointed to the location of the tomb of St. James. This relationship between the Milky Way and the Way of Santiago was definitely fixed in the twelfth century in the Codex Calixtino, according to which the Apostle came to Charlemagne, pointing to the Milky Way as a guide to arrive at Compostela, Campus Stellae or Field of Stars .

The reality is that, depending on season and time, the Milky Way can point in any direction. But the fact remains that his inspiring and romantic vision lives on the pilgrims. That is why, for the retention of the light source of mysticism, ecstasy and enchantment, so that Spanish astronomers work, coinciding with the International Year of Astronomy.

And finally, Santiago

But the ultimate goal of all paths and the goal of all pilgrims are arriving in Santiago. There, its cobbled streets and welcoming porches again flooded with people engaged in perpetual wanderings tapas and nightlife that for centuries characterized the town of Compostela. But as always, and especially in the Holy Year, everything revolves around his cathedral, huge, ancient and full of mysteries and symbols. 2010 will be a unique occasion to see once again the magic of this city of ancient history, in which each of its stones could tell endless stories.

Who gets to Santiago after walking the Way, either in whole or in part, must do as the ancient pilgrims, stopping earlier in the Monte del Gozo, about three kilometers from the city and 368 m altitude, from which walkers gazed for the first time the towers of the Cathedral. But in any case, all roads lead to Piazza Obradoiro, geographical and spiritual center of this ancient city.

If any sense of this huge square, with no gardens, no bars, no houses, is to extol the cathedral with its Baroque façade that invites to a huge staircase. Opposite the cathedral, the Palacio de Raxoi, neoclassical City Hall and become President of the Xunta, the Hostal de los Reyes Católicos, Renaissance and the College of St. Jerome, with fifteenth-century Romanesque façade completes the picture.

Since it is Xacobeo Year must not lose the chance to win the Jubilee, a forgiveness of our sins is always welcome. Those wishing to gain the Jubilee Compostela must meet three requirements: First, visit the tomb of the Apostle at the Cathedral of Santiago, the second, saying a prayer and attend Mass in the Cathedral, and the third, receiving the sacraments of the Penance and Communion. But also, the pilgrim arrives in Santiago to win the Jubilee usually follows a specific ceremonial consisting of four basic steps.
The first is to enter the Door Obradoiro and admire the Portico de la Gloria, a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture. The second step is to reflect, place 5 fingers of right hand, representing the 5 routes of faith in the column of the mullion and ask for a grace with great fervor the Apostle. Then you must go to the back porch, facing the statue of Master Mateo and hit our head three times against the head of Matthew so that we are spreading his wisdom (for it is called the «Holy two Croques» or «Holy of cuffs). Then you have to go before the altar and remember all who have helped us in our journey, before attending Mass Pilgrims then go to the altar and embrace the Apostle from behind. The last rites will deposit the pilgrim’s hat on the head of the saint.

Several roads converge in Santiago!