[Gocamino] Web page rivalry in Santiago

[blaroli at aol.com]

Hello you all,

Just as celebrating Christmas has become a quasi-universal practice, so have Pre-Christmas jitters, it seems.

Over the last couple of days a spirited, and edgy, polemic regarding shells and what-have-you has been posted here; while such exchanges are frequent in some Camino list-servs, happily they are unusual in Go Camino and Saint James, so it must be the Advent excitement.  (I’ll never understand why even those of us who routinely put in a 60 or more hours work-week and must, by necessity, we super-organized, manage to get out of kilter in the couple of weeks leading to Christmas…… year after year)

And something similar seems to be going on in Santiago where a tiffish rivalry has arisen between the Cathedral’s cabildo and the Cathedral’s archbishopric in their desire to be the pre-eminent e-presence representing the Cathedral.

The cabildo has a (very nice) web-page:  www.catedralde-santiago.es and the archbishopric has its own: www.catedraldesantiago.net .  The latter is run by the indefatigable Don Juan Jose Cebrian who is, unofficially, in charge of all things technological attending the Cathedral, and feels that the cabildo’s Web page should come under his jurisdiction.

Don Juanjo is a brother of Don Genaro Cebrian, who is a gentle soul, a la Barry Fitzgerald in “Going my Way”, and who is in charge of the Pilgrims’ Office when he is not celebrating Mass or hearing confessions.  Both brothers were Diocesian Universities professors in Rome and other places until they reached the Church-imposed retirement age of 75.  Don Juanjo, who has written about forty books dealing with the Camino, has dedicated his prodigious energies since retirement to an effort to technologize the Cathedral and to establish an electronic web linking all the albergues. The web page under his purview is scholarly and informative and, at present, contains archeological studies, and spherical virtual photographs of the development of the Cathedral, the sepulcher, the Portico de Gloria and the crypt…all with historical explanations and invaluable references.

The cabildo’s web-page contains virtual tours of the Cathedral’s roof, the museum, the cloisters, the interior of the church and the archives, among other things.  It also allows the viewers to activate a virtual Botafumeiro and even to  obtain an E-“Compostela”.

 

The Dean of the Cathedral thinks it an anomaly for two facilities serving the same objective to be in rivalry with one another, and feels that there should be only one eb-page.  But both the cabildo and the archbishopric seem determined to hold their ground and a rush to press their points has flared up.

 

To add spice to the wine, there are plans on the part of the archbishopric to establish an Internet TV channel (sort-of like You-Tube) similar to the one that the Vatican created so successfully in 1983 and which today transmits more than one hundred Vatican events every year, including Papal travels.  The one proposed for Santiago would be under the aegis of Don Juanjo and would transmit doings in the Cathedral and environs related to Santiago, to the Camino and to pilgrims.

 

Meanwhile, the bids to manage privately the public albergues have been studied and the three surviving candidates are a company from Vigo (Limpiezas del Noroeste Linorsa), one from Corunha (Aulen) and one from Santiago (Alvite Servicios Integrales).  Reportedly, a decision will be made before the end of the year.

 

And, finally, Xacobeo and Raxoi have taken the first steps on behalf of pilgrims to put clear and visible signs leading pilgrims to the Cathedral once they near Santiago.  As most of us know, such signs have been non-existent and have caused concern and confusion to arriving pilgrims, particularly if they don’t speak Spanish. The signs will be multi-lingual.

 

As it is for most people I know, Christmas is, and has always been,  my very favorite holiday and it has never failed to warm my heart. Nevertheless, I shall be relieved to board a plan to Vienna on December 26th for a much needed post-Christmas survival rest.



The office manager of the Santiago Pilgrims' Office and the Archconfraternity's secretary will arrive in new York a week from tomorrow.... so, please, do keep the suggestions and questions coming and I will present the list to them.



Hugs!

 

Rosina

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