[Gocamino] A piece of the True Cross in Spain?

[Sil]

Potes, Spain - Around one million pilgrims are expected to journey along the
narrow and winding roads of Spain's mountainous Cantabria province to the
Franciscan monastery of Santo Toribio de Liebana this year. The monastery is
one of the most important sites of Roman Catholicism in Europe housing the
Lignum Crucis, believed to be the biggest surviving piece of cross on which
Jesus Christ was crucified.

Scenic mountain streams cut their way through the Liebana valley. Smoke can
be seen rising from the chimneys of small farmhouses while cows grazed
nearby. All of it is back dropped by the snow-covered peak of the Picos de
Europe. A deep gorge with eery walls on either side virtually separates the
valley from the outside world. When the Iberian peninsular was occupied by
the Moors in the 8th century, many Christians fled to the valley that could
never be taken by the
invaders<http://travel.monstersandcritics.com/features/article_1159993.php/On_a_pilgrimage_in_Spains_Cantabria_province#>.


In close vicinity to the gorge, the Santa Maria de Lebena church reminds of
these early Christian settlements. The church was built in the year 930 and
is one of the oldest in Cantabria. The Count of Liebana built the church in
Mozarabic style to deposit relics of the Holy Toribio. But the monks from
the Santo Toribio monastery successfully resisted attempts by the Count's
knights to seize the bones of the holy man by force.

The monastery stands alongside Jerusalem, Rome, Santiago de Compostela and
Caravaca de la Cruz as one of only five places with the privilege to
celebrate a 'Holy Year', granted by a Papal Bull from Julius II in 1512.  A
holy year is celebrated when the saint's day falls on a Sunday, 2006 being
such a year. Toribio, the bishop of Astorga, brought the piece of the cross
measuring 63 centimetres in length and 39 centimetres in width from
Jerusalem in the 5th century. In the 8th century, the monks hid the relic in
the Liebana valley to protect it from the Moors. Today the cross is embedded
in a shrine decorated with gold and silver. 
Oscar<http://travel.monstersandcritics.com/features/article_1159993.php/On_a_pilgrimage_in_Spains_Cantabria_province#>Solloa,
a monk in the monastery, has been asked hundreds of times whether
the fragment really comes from the cross on which Jesus was crucified.

'Analysis has confirmed that it comes from a cyprus tree in Palestine that
was over 2,000 years old, but that is not that important,' he says. 'Many
people have found their way back to the faith by coming here.'

The surrounding sleepy villages seem unperturbed by the pilgrimages. Only in
Potes, the vibrant capital of the Liebana valley, we see some holidaymakers
wandering through the old part of towns with its
arcades<http://travel.monstersandcritics.com/features/article_1159993.php/On_a_pilgrimage_in_Spains_Cantabria_province#>and
fortress tower dating to the 15th century. Apart from the pilgrims,
hikers can frequently be seen in the villages of Mogrovejo and Cosgaya.
Others can be found in the last village in the valley, Fuente De. Here the
road ends in front of an 800-metre high cliff wall. The top can be reached
by cable but climbers are advised to first seek the blessing of Santo
Toribio.

More information on the internet websites www.spain.info,
www.turismodecantabria.com


--
Sil