[Gocamino] The first Christian pilgrims. Saint Francis

[blaroli at aol.com]

Hello you all,
Yesterday, the 6th of January, was the Three Kings (or Magi, or Wise Men) day which commemorates the date when those three exotic personages reached baby Jesus with their (rather strange) presents. 
Here in new York City the event has begun to be celebrated with a parade where three suitable clad persons riding in camels (really) parade in certain parts of the city.  Our mayor, Mike Bloomberg, (who because of term-limits cannot run anymore for re-election) participated in the parade yesterday and regaled onlooking  children with a shower of sweets and presents.
These parades are commonplace in all Latin countries, American or European. Last year I was in Vienna on the day and was rather surprised to learn that the date is an official holiday in Austria, and that throughout the day sundry groups dressed as the Three Kings go all over the city making music and giving presents to children;  there were also tableaux, fireworks,  and all sorts of events commemorating the event on the parks and pedestrian streets.
It was in Vienna that I heard it said that the Three Kings were the very first Christian Pilgrims, and that the star that guided them was the ancient form of today's yellow stars and arrows leading pilgrims to Compostela.
 
Whether or not Saint Francis actually made the pilgrimage to Santiago is a mystery that continues to fascinate and baffle people, with Franciscan scholars equally divided on the subject.  Here and there, like precious jewels, there are indicia of his pilgrimage: he would have crossed the Pyrenees at Somport, as most pilgrims from Italy did, and would have followed the Aragonese route of the French Way. The stories about him, and about miraculous happenings brought about by his presence, abound in the area, but there actually is something in black and white that evidences his being there:  the lovely and notable monastery of Leyre used to give shelter to pilgrims on their way to Santiago, and once did so in the winter time for five pilgrim monks from Italy who spent a couple of days at the monastery. The Abbot, as was his custom, asked them to sign their names on a book of visitors and guests; the pilgrim monks did as the Abbot asked. After the monks left, the Abbot, who had !
 recently returned from a pilgrimage to Rome, was surprised and thrilled to see that the fifth name read, simply, "Francesco de Assisi". The monks who live in the monastery today remember and commemorate that visit with their celebrated Gregorian chants.
 
Big hug!
 
Rosina
 
 
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