The Camino

The Camino

The Santiago de Compostela, an ancient pilgrimage route, or really whole series of routes from all over Europe which converge on Santiago in northwestern Spain, is an ancient road that pays homage to the apostle St. James the Great. The road itself is a millenia old, but the legends which began it go back to nearly the time of Christ...

St. James was the brother of John. Together, they were the 'Sons of Thunder,' or Boanerges. One can only guess from their booming voices and personalities or their lightening tempers or what! They were the fishing partners of their father, Zebedee, and they were recruited by Jesus from the shores of the Sea of Galilee to be his disciples. In one of their less brilliant moments, they came to Jesus and asked that when he came into his glory, they wanted to sit at his side, one on the left and one on the right. (Mk. 10:37) They hadn't picked up on the servant leadership idea yet. The request wasn't received particularly well by Jesus.

There isn't any Biblical basis to the rest of the story behind the legend. But according to the story, shortly before his crucifixion, Jesus apportioned the world to his closest disciples, his apostles. James was given the Iberian peninsula. So James traveled there, as far as Galicia, preaching as he went, but apparently wasn't very successful and only garned seven disciples. He decided to return home to Galilee. On the way, as he was passing through what is now Zaragoza, he had a visit by the Virgin Mary, reportedly the only miraculous apparition during her lifetime. She asked James to build a church there in honor of her son and gave him the pillar to which Jesus had been tied while he had been flogged prior to his crucifixion by Pilate. James did as he was requested, naming the church La Iglesia de la Virgen del Pilar (the Church of the Virgin of the Pillar), which is why so many Spanish women are named Pilar.

Jame returned to Jerusalem only to be beheaded by Herod Agrippa in 44 CE. He was the first of the Apostles to be martyred (Acts 12:2). Friends stole his body (and head) out of Jerusalem and placed it in a small boat. Even without the benefit of sails, oars or anyone in the boat to control its direction, the boat managed to miraculously cross the Mediterranean Sea, go through the Straight of Gibraltar and north along the Iberian coast (against prevailing currents!). When the boat reached Galicia, it stopped, and Santiago's disciples (all seven of them), somehow alerted that he was coming, or perhaps somehow recognizing him, took his body out of the boat. They had not had time to make ready a tomb, so they placed his body on a large slab stone, which immediately curved, like a cradle, to hold the holy relic.

The burial of St. James' body was also filled with trials, but he was eventually interred on a hill on property belonging to the local queen. Nothing else is said in for seven to eight centuries. The area is slowly Christianized. Then, Muslims invade up from Africa. Their tactical error is to leave in place some small Christian groups hiding out in the Iberian mountains. These groups eventually reconquer Spain for Christianity. Around 813 CE, a hermit sees lights and hears music near a small cave on a hillside. Digging, he finds bones and a parchment. Taking the artifacts to the local Bishop, they are authenticated as St. James' and two of his disciples. It is only a matter of time before pilgrims start to come to the tomb. Then a town, then a city, then a cathedral, where once was a small chapel to guard the relics.

Since that time, there have been millions of pilgrims to Santiago. Everyone has their own reason for making the journey, some of which have nothing to do with spirituality and religion, and some of which have everything to do with it. Over time, pilgrimage has had to do with glory and honor and penance and indulgences. Many of the people who go on this journey are not able to articulate exactily what draws them, even when they are through with it. Some people do the Camino over and over again. Perhaps pilgrimage, in a true spiritual sense, has most to do with seeking the living God.