Session VII The Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

One of the three great Roman Catholic Pilgrimages, Santiago de Compostela in far northwest Spain, not far from Fisterra (Finisterre) or the end of the earth and the westernmost point in Continental Europe, has been attracting pilgrims for more than 1000 years. Those pilgrims are attracted to the purported tomb of the Apostle James the Greater, Santiago, in the crypt of the Cathedral. The cathedral itself is a masterpiece of the Romanesque now inside a Baroque facade. 

Session VII looks at the story of St. James the major, the legend of the translocation of his corpse from Palestine to Galicia, a very little of the history of the period between that event and the beginning of pilgrimage, the evolution of that pilgrimage and a few of the legends and other bits of folklore related to the pilgrimage through the ages. The session concludes with a present day walk along the main route, the Camino Frances, from the French-Spanish border to Santiago and beyond to Fisterra.

 

Outline

The Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

I. The story of St. James the Greater (also called St. James the Major), Santiago in Castellano.

A. Disciple of Christ

B.    Evangelist in Iberia?

C. Martyrdom

D.  Translocation and burial 

II. The evolution of the pilgrimage

A. "Rediscovery" of the tomb

B. Reconquista

C.  Resettlement of the wastes

D. The Benedictines and the route

III. The folklore of the pilgrimage

A. Origins of "Compostela"

B. The legends of Santo Domingo de la Calzada

IV. The Camino today

A. Marking the route

B. Fr. Elias Valina Sampedro

V. Walking the Camino - slide show with commentary