The pandemic has led to an historic event: Santiago is celebrating its Xacobeo Holy Year in consecutive years - 2021 and 2022. This concession has been granted by Pope Francis and provides important support for both St James’s Way and Galicia as a whole, which saw their globally renowned pilgrimage affected last summer, and which will remain attentive to the situation of the virus in the coming months.
With an agenda of events and cultural displays pending the epidemiological situation and the development of the vaccination process both in Spain and in the rest of the world, St James’s Way and Galicia are asserting the region’s status as a safe destination. This first year will be more focused on the national pilgrimage, but a more international horizon is hoped for in 2022. It should not be forgotten that before the outbreak of Covid-19, the capital of Galicia received some 350,000 pilgrims each year, of which some 170,000 were foreigners, particularly Italians, Germans, North Americans, Portuguese and French.
What is Xacobeo?
The Xacobeo Holy Year is held when St. James’s Day – 25 July – falls on a Sunday, which takes place in a 6, 5, 6 and 11 year sequence. The origin of this tradition dates back to 1122, when the last stone of Santiago Cathedral was laid. Pope Callixtus II, who had walked the Way in previous years, granted the city of Santiago de Compostela the privilege of celebrating its Jubilee Year as from the year 1126, so that pilgrims in Compostela could be favoured with the same graces as those in Rome in jubilee years, which tended to coincide there every 25 years. In other words, during this year, the Diocese of Santiago could grant the faithful a series of conditions of full indulgence; in other words, have their sins forgiven.
This privilege led to the rise in the Middle Ages of pilgrimages from throughout Europe to Compostela along the so-called St James’s Way and its different routes. The most recent Xacobeo Holy Years were in 1993, 1999, 2004 and 2010, and now 2021.
The start is followed by more than 1.5 million people
Photo: xacobeo2021.caminodesantiago.gal
Three strikes with a wooden and silver hammer mark the start of Xacobeo just a few hours before the start of the New Year, at an inaugural ceremony at the Holy Door of the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, which was held under strict safety measures to combat Covid-19 and with the restoration works on the cathedral recently terminated.
This centuries-old ritual was broadcast by streaming and on regional television in Galicia, and was followed by more than 1.5 million people in 33 countries who connected at some time through the different channels, social media and broadcasts that covered the event. The event also included a documentary created by the bagpiper Carlos Núñez, which included the participation of Spanish artists of the stature of Julio Iglesias, Alejandro Sanz, Amaral and Rozalén, together with Paulo Coelho, the international author whose works include St James’s Way as a backdrop.
A continuous and flexible cultural programme
As a result of the health situation, Xacobeo has and will continue to have an ongoing programme of events, as stated by the Regional Tourism Department of the Regional Government of Galicia. With a budget of 85.6 million euros, most activities are concentrated in the first half of the year in Galicia, particularly in the countryside, where St James’s Way is key for its inhabitants, which will always be adapted to the epidemiological situation. Over these months, Xacobeo will develop supported by digital tools and cover more of the region as and when the pandemic so permits, with actions throughout Spain and in Portugal in the second half of the year, with a view to its international promotion that attracts a larger number of participants in 2022.
Xacobeo reaches ‘Prime Video’ and the ‘New York Times’
Promotional image of the Prime Video series '3 Caminos'.
The great audio-visual production of Xacobeo 2021-2022 and one of its best letters of presentation is the series ‘3 Caminos’, available since 22 January on the platform Amazon Prime Video. Starring Álex González, Verónica Echegui, Cecilia Suárez, Anna Schimrigk, Andrea Bosca and Alberto Jo Lee, it tells the story of five pilgrims that journey along St James’s Way in three different stages of their lives and of how it has changed over the course of time. Produced by Ficción Producciones together with TVG (regional television of Galicia) and the Regional Government of Galicia, this production involves participation from Germany, Italy, Portugal, South Korea and Mexico.
For its part, the US daily ‘The New York Times’ has recently selected St James’s Way as one of the 52 destinations around the world to fall in love with in 2021. St James’s Way and Cordoba are the only two Spanish destinations selected by the daily newspaper from among more than 2,000 proposals received from its readers.
More info: xacobeo2021.caminodesantiago.gal