The Way of St. James

The Way of St James has existed for over a thousand years. It was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times, and a pilgrimage route on which a plenary indulgence could be earned.
(Galician: O Camiño de Santiago, Spanish: El Camino de Santiago, French: Chemin de St-Jacques, German: Jakobsweg)
The most popular route is the French Way or Camino Francés, cities in Spain situated along this route are Pamplona and Burgos. Another popular route is the 227 km long Portuguese Way, , which starts at Se Catedral in the city of Porto in the north of Portugal. Many pilgrims prefer to start closer to the Spanish border at Valença, Portugal, and Tui, Galicia, for a five-day, 108 km walk.

Whenever St James's day (25 July) falls on a Sunday, the cathedral declares a Holy or Jubilee. The most recent were 1982, 1993, 1999 and 2004. The next Holy Years will be 2021, 2027 and 2032
A Guarda receives the Jacobean 2010 with special interest. For the first time our village appears in the Jacobean routes formally recognized by the Galician regional government as part of the Portuguese Coast Way .
Last Saturday 13th March, 160 people walked the stage 0 (Viana – Caminha) of this Way, a pilgrimage organized by the council.

pilgrimage route = ruta de peregrinación
pilgrim = peregrino
closer to = más cerca de
indulgence = indulgencia
stage = etapa