[Gocamino] Pilgrims keep on coming to Santiago

[Blaroli at aol.com]

Hello you all,
Today's  Santiago newspapers report that pilgrims keep on coming to Santiago 
and proceed to  the Pilgrims' Office to obtain their Compostela from9:00 a.m. 
to 9:;00 p.m. 
Such pilgrims are arriving not only from Spain, but from many other countries 
.(Peter O'Rourke from Australia arrived in Santiago last weekend).
It appears that many people don't want to miss the opportunity to cross the 
Holy Door, since six years must pass before it is reopened again.
You may remember that I was there for the opening of the Holy Door which 
followed a ceremony commencing at 4:30 p.m. on December 31st of last year..

This year the closing of the Holy Door will be preceded by a Te Deum 
Pilgrims' Mass at noon, during  which those members of the Universal Archicofradia 
that will receive merit medals will do so at the High Altar, and will recite, in 
unison, their commitment to the Camino.
After the Mass there will be a Universal Archicofradia dinner  at 2:00 p.m. 
in San Martin Penario to recognize the honorees.
Lastly, the ceremonies to close the Holy Door will begin at 4:30 p.m. and 
will be televised and accessible through computers.
As mentioned, I was invited to the do and the invitation proved irresistible. 
I will be leaving New York on the 28th and will remain in Santiago until the 
4th of January.
If  there is anything that I can do, or get, for any one of you while I am 
there I will most gladly do so. Let me know.  As soon as I arrive I'll make the 
rounds of the bookstores and will post what I may find of interest to us all.
There will also be fireworks at Quintana at midnight. Last year the square 
was chock-full, and much to my surprise "Cava" (Spanish champagne) was freely 
passed to the hundreds and hundreds of us who were there in plastic flute 
glasses that contained grapes. Later I learned that the Xunta had sponsored the 
distribution of the libations. The merrymaking went on through the entire night 
and I spent most of the following day seeking, in vain, for the comforts of a 
bloody Mary or two.
(For this trip, I am taking my own bloody Mary mix.... just in case).
I sure hope that they will not "wall-up" the Holy Door.  All of us who have 
seen the new, stunningly  beautiful,  sculpted  green bronze doors would like 
for them to remain in place so that they may be admired by all pilgrims all the 
time. 
Also, you will remember that because of political considerations the 
Archdiocese had decided to remove the image of Santiago Matamoros which is located on 
a barred niche to the right as one enters the Cathedral from Azabacherias.   
The proposal caused such a hue and cry (and invitations from parishes in Italy 
and France that the image be moved there), that the decision was rescinded and 
the image will remain where it is.
I do not know whether there will be mass confessions at the High Pilgrims' 
Mass. When I was there with my Brazilian friend on Thanksgiving we sneaked  onto 
two lines, half  an hour before Mass, that were moving towards the altar, 
seeking to find a good position  to see the Botafumeiro. Someone came over to ask 
what language we were most  comfortable with; I said English and Neida said 
Portuguese. We were then separated onto two lines  and eventually someone on my 
line told me that we were going to confession! The confessions were heard by 
several priests, in several languages,  seated around the altar.  When my turn 
came I was received  by a priest from Scotland; I told him that in the 
interest of time I was willing to admit to everything, except murder; but he told me 
not to worry about the time and encouraged me to wax eloquent!  
Oh well!. 
My friend Neida went on to a Portuguese priest and she held him up for an 
inordinate amount of time, as most of us who were back sitting in the pews 
couldn't fail to notice.
I shall prepare myself this time, en case there is another mass confession.

On a (very) good note, I'd like to tell you that on Monday the 26th a brand 
new albergue will open in the City of Merida.
When I come back and have some free time I will report on the absolutely 
woundrous nature and enchantment of the Camino de la Plata, particularly the 
cities of Merida, Zamora, Salamanca and Ourtense, all out-of-this-world.
Warm regards,
Rosina