[Gocamino] Furelos Crucifix

[Rosina]

Hello you all,

 

The town of Furelos is at the edge of Melide and situated right on the Camino.  The small village was once the property of the Hospitaleros de San Juan (St. John Hospitaleros, a group from France, and it is entered crossing a still striking medieval bridge. Its small church, renovated on the 19th century,  preserves some of the original 13th century walls  and it is still taken care of by French clerics and seminarians.

 

The church contains a crucifix hanging on the right hand wall depicting Christ, already on the Cross, extending His right arm downwards to help and console a supplicant at the foot of the Cross. The impression that the Crucifix makes remains in one’s mind, and heart, long, very long,  after.

The Crucifix was carved by a Galician artist centuries ago and it was the inspiration for the movie “Marcelino, Pan y Vino” (Marcelino, bread and wine) that won numerous awards and much acclaim all over the world.  Beyond the movie the Furelos Crucifix was the model for the magnificent bronze one in the Assisi upper church.

 

There is a very beautiful church in New York City, Saint Paul’s, located on Ninth Avenue and 60th street.  The church is very, very beautiful, and contains many pieces of modern religious art which are very impressive and quite often very lovely. (They also have concerts there, I think). Going into the church, quite by happenstance, I was much surprised to find that in their little store they have some small free-standing crucifixes on the form of the Furelos one.

 

If you like, I can send you a photo of the Furelos Crucifix as an attachment….. let me know.

 

The Furelos church, like so many churches in Spain, is baffling in that one never knows when it is open. One may, however, call up and ask.  They usually have a Mass in the afternoon; and even if one has to wait there is a bar, sort of, around the corner, that you could swear dates back to Don Quixote times.  Itself alone the little bar is worth going to Furelos.  

 

Sadly, many pilgrims miss the church when walking, or bicycling to Santiago because only an inconpicuous side door opens to the street where one walks…. The Main entrance and its little garden face another direction.  I was very lucky that in my first Camino there was a young French priest speaking to a pilgrim by the side door and when I asked him a question he invited me in.  I have been back about a dozen times ever since.

Getting to Furelos is very simple; one need only take any bus to Melide and ask the driver to be let out near the Furelos church.

 

Big hug!

 

 

Rosina