The Way of Sant James

• The Turismo director closed today’s working meeting of this team of nine specialists from throughout Europe, which advises the Xunta on issues around the pilgrimage route
• The 10th International Congress on Jacobean Studies, scheduled for November; the upcoming issue of Ad Limina magazine; and coordination of the Way of St. James and Pilgrimages Department were some of the topics discussed at the meeting
• Supporting this committee’s activity is among the measures included in the Way of St. James Master Plan, with the aim of strengthening the cultural and historical identity of the route

Santiago de Compostela, 26 July 2017

Turismo de Galicia Director Nava Castro closed today’s working meeting of the International Committee of Experts on the Way of St. James, a prestigious group of specialists on the pilgrimage route which has advised the Xunta on this subject for the past 25 years. On the occasion of this anniversary, Castro offered congratulations in a speech thanking the committee for its tireless efforts, which began in the months leading up to Holy Year 1993, which marked a turning point in the recent history of the pilgrimage, and have continued down to today, as we look forward to another important Holy Year, to take place in 2021.

Nava Castro thanked the nine members of the committee, headed by Paulo Caucci, professor at the Università degli Studi di Perugia, ‘on behalf of all Galicians and pilgrims for your support over this first quarter century in defining, managing and promoting the Way of St. James’. Some members were even involved in getting the pilgrimage route listed as the First European Cultural Route, an event which took place 30 years ago this October and which Turismo de Galicia plans to commemorate with special programming.

At the meeting, held today at the International Pilgrim Welcome Centre, the International Committee of Experts on the Way of St. James discussed various key topics related to promotion and research around the route. These included the International Congress on Jacobean Studies, scheduled for November in Santiago de Compostela; issue 8 of Ad Limina magazine; and the Way of St. James and Pilgrimages Department, recently created by Turismo de Galicia, the University of Santiago and Santiago Cathedral. The department director, Domingo González Lopo, took part in the meeting in order to coordinate with the committee, which provides advisory services. The various reports presented by the specialists demonstrate the opportunities and dynamism represented by the Jacobean phenomenon.
 
Promoting Jacobean culture

The director of Turismo de Galicia noted that support for this committee’s activity ‘is one of the measures included in the Way of St. James Master and Strategic Plan, in order to strengthen the cultural and historical identity with which this pilgrimage route is blessed’. Among the lines of action contained in this plan, which has been in place for two years and looks forward to the next Holy Year, Xacobeo 2021, is the promotion of research, communication and education on the pilgrimage route and the culture surrounding it, as exploring its roots is key to facing the future.

The Master Plan includes eight lines of action and a budget of over 56 million euros, of which around 60% has already been completed. Considering the steady increase in the number of pilgrims in recent years, totalling 150,000 so far in 2017, this roadmap has implemented a number of measures related to coordination among institutions, preserving and promoting the heritage and values of the different routes, conservation and signage, environmental sustainability, improving pilgrim services, and accessibility.

In this last area, the Accessible Tourism Plan for Galicia and the Way of St. James was presented recently. Its aim is to make the autonomous community a leader in inclusive tourism and the Way of St. James an experience which can be enjoyed by people with functional diversity.
 
Prestigious specialists

Up-to-date information on these issues was also presented to the members of the Committee of Experts, who, as Nava Castro highlighted, ‘have logged kilometres of research, both walked and written’, making the group ‘a compass by which we are guided and a fountain from which we can always drink’. All of the members combine their academic work with an active role as pilgrims and heads of the Friends of the Way of St. James organizations in various European countries. The committee’s membership therefore reflects the nationalities with the strongest presence on the pilgrimage.

The International Committee of Experts on the Way of St. James is made up of: Paolo Caucci, chairman, professor at the Università degli Studi di Perugia and president of the Confraternita di San Jacopo di Perugia; Manuel Castiñeiras, professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona; Klaus Herbers, professor at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürberg; Fernando López Alsina, head of the Medieval History Department at the Universidad de Santiago; Robert Plötz, professor at Universität Würzburg and president of the Deutschen St. Jakobus-Gesellschaft; Adeline Rucquoi, director of research at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and president of the Société Française des Amis de Saint Jacques de Compostelle; Simon Barton, professor at the University of Exeter; Segundo Pérez, director of the Compostela Theological Institute and dean of Santiago Cathedral; and María José Azevedo, professor and head of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal).