Monte del Gozo to Santiago

Monte del Gozo to Santiago

Date:May 25, 2014
Author:
Category:On the Camino
We left Monte de Gozo at about 7:00 a.m. and arrived at the cathedral in Santiago about an hour later. We were the only ones in the plaza. An hour later, it would begin filling with arriving pilgrims and tour groups.

We left Monte de Gozo at about 7:00 a.m. and arrived at the cathedral in Santiago about an hour later. We were the only ones in the plaza. An hour later, it would begin filling with arriving pilgrims and tour groups.

A volunteer at the cathedral of Santiago prepares my Compostella, or certificate of completing the Camino de Santiago.

A volunteer at the cathedral of Santiago prepares my Compostella, or certificate of completing the Camino de Santiago.

"K-A-T- . . ." Fellow pilgrim and superb Camino compañera Katie Fosselman receiving her Compostella, as the line of new arrivals begins to build outside.

“K-A-T- . . .” Fellow pilgrim and superb Camino compañera Katie Fosselman receiving her Compostella, as the line of new arrivals begins to build outside.

After receiving our Compostellae, we ducked into a cafe across the street for breakfast and bathrooms. Moments later, we reconnected with Mike and daughter Ashley from Australia.

After receiving our Compostellae, we all ducked into a cafe across the street for breakfast and bathrooms. Moments later, we reconnected with Mike and daughter Ashley from Australia.

A Franciscan brother issues the certificates commemorating the 800th anniversary of the Camino pilgrimage by St. Francis of Assisi.

A Franciscan brother issues the certificates commemorating the 800th anniversary of the Camino pilgrimage by St. Francis of Assisi.

The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Santiago. Operated by the Franciscan monastic order. This is where I went to ask for the certificate commemorating the Camino pilgrimage by St. Frances 800 years ago.

The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Santiago. Operated by the Franciscan monastic order. This is where I went to ask for the certificate commemorating the Camino pilgrimage by St. Frances 800 years ago.

My hotel in Santiago. The former convent attached to the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi. Four stars, thick towels that I don't have to wash, and a masseuse. Bring it.

My hotel in Santiago. The former convent attached to the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi. Four stars, thick towels that I don’t have to wash, and a masseuse. Bring it.

The smoking incense of the botafumeiro just before they raise it and begin to swing. It covers an arc across the full width of the apse in the cathedral of Santiago, going to near horizontal before plunging back down and across.

The smoking incense of the botafumeiro just before they raise it and begin to swing. It covers an arc across the full width of the apse in the cathedral of Santiago, going to near horizontal before plunging back down and across.

Here he is: the man, the myth, the legend. Saint James (Santo Iago) hisself. The brother of Jesus, he became a missionary to Spain. The web site AmericanPilgrims.com notes that: "Christian legend has it that when the Apostles divided the known world into missionary zones, the Iberian peninsula fell to James. Seventh and eighth century documents suggest that he spent a number of years preaching there before returning to Jerusalem, where in the year 44 AD he was beheaded by Herod Agrippa I. After his martyrdom, popular belief relates that his followers carried his body to the coast and put it into a stone boat, which was guided by angels and carried by the wind beyond the Pillars of Hercules (the Strait of Gibraltar) to land near Finisterre, at Padrón, in northern Spain. The local Queen, Lupa, provided the team of oxen used to draw the body from Padrón to the site of a marble tomb which she had also provided. Saint James was believed to have been buried there with two of his disciples. And there the body lay, forgotten until the 9th century. Early in that century, Pelagius, a hermit living in that part of Galicia, had a vision in which he saw a star or a field of stars that led him to what proved to be an ancient tomb containing three bodies. He immediately reported this to the local bishop, Theodomir, who declared the remains to be those of Santiago and two of his followers and who in turn reported the find to the King of Asturias, Alphonso II, who forthwith declared Santiago to be the patron saint of Spain, or of what would eventually be Spain. That would come later. A small village named Campus de Ia Stella (Field of Stars) and a monastery were established on the site. (Or possibly the Roman word for cemetery, "componere": to bury, is the source.) In any event, news of the discovery spread like wildfire and a trickle of pilgrims began to arrive. Miracles came to be attributed to the site, and the miracles encouraged pilgrimage and pilgrimage elicited more miracles. This was all greatly encouraged by the powerful Archbishop Gelmirez of Galicia and the cathedral authorities, who were anxious to promote Santiago as a pilgrimage destination, as well as by the monks of the Abbey of Cluny in France who were anxious to support the Spanish Church in its struggle against the Moors on the Peninsula. And thus began the millennium-long relationship between the holy and the commercial."

Here he is: the man, the myth, the legend. Saint James (Santo Iago) hisself. The brother of Jesus, he became a missionary to Spain. The web site AmericanPilgrims.com notes that:
“Christian legend has it that when the Apostles divided the known world into missionary zones, the Iberian peninsula fell to James. Seventh and eighth century documents suggest that he spent a number of years preaching there before returning to Jerusalem, where in the year 44 AD he was beheaded by Herod Agrippa I. After his martyrdom, popular belief relates that his followers carried his body to the coast and put it into a stone boat, which was guided by angels and carried by the wind beyond the Pillars of Hercules (the Strait of Gibraltar) to land near Finisterre, at Padrón, in northern Spain. The local Queen, Lupa, provided the team of oxen used to draw the body from Padrón to the site of a marble tomb which she had also provided. Saint James was believed to have been buried there with two of his disciples. And there the body lay, forgotten until the 9th century.
Early in that century, Pelagius, a hermit living in that part of Galicia, had a vision in which he saw a star or a field of stars that led him to what proved to be an ancient tomb containing three bodies. He immediately reported this to the local bishop, Theodomir, who declared the remains to be those of Santiago and two of his followers and who in turn reported the find to the King of Asturias, Alphonso II, who forthwith declared Santiago to be the patron saint of Spain, or of what would eventually be Spain. That would come later. A small village named Campus de Ia Stella (Field of Stars) and a monastery were established on the site. (Or possibly the Roman word for cemetery, “componere”: to bury, is the source.) In any event, news of the discovery spread like wildfire and a trickle of pilgrims began to arrive. Miracles came to be attributed to the site, and the miracles encouraged pilgrimage and pilgrimage elicited more miracles. This was all greatly encouraged by the powerful Archbishop Gelmirez of Galicia and the cathedral authorities, who were anxious to promote Santiago as a pilgrimage destination, as well as by the monks of the Abbey of Cluny in France who were anxious to support the Spanish Church in its struggle against the Moors on the Peninsula. And thus began the millennium-long relationship between the holy and the commercial.”