On the Road to St James - A Pilgrimage

 I recently recorded this 725 word essay for WAMC, Northeast Public Radio, our local NPR feed. I was sorry the listener's couldn't see the photos from my week-long pilgrimage. I hope you enjoy them.

This will air Monday, July 16 th at 10:45am & can be heard on www.wamc.org

Following the yellow signs on the St James Way

    Everyday as many as one thousand religious pilgrims travel ancient paths from all over Europe to see the tomb of St James in Spain’s  Northwest province of Galicia. They seek salvation and the granting of a favor from the saint. To qualify for these indulgences, they must travel at least the last 100 kilometers from Sarria to Santiago visiting the many churches and cathedrals along the Saint James Way. I just returned from following this path all the way from France, across Northern Spain, into the country of my ancestors. The trail was beautiful -- in full bloom, fragrant and colorful -- and in full voice, with birds singing to me on my journey in a cheering and comforting way. It was as if mother nature - and not just other pilgrims - was with me as I traveled west, following the scallop shell sign of St James, to Santiago and the sea.

    There is a rich heritage to this journey. In Medieval times the wealthy believed that they could buy their way into heaven. The pilgrimage became popular with the poor because it offered salvation just for making the journey. Pilgrims received free room and board from the churches along the route, or were asked to pay only what they could afford. Since Northern Spain was largely unpopulated after the Moors were driven out, it was important to have many Christians taking the pilgrimage to resettle the region. To insure this, noble landowners along the route built bridges and hospitality centers to ease the traveler's burden. In effect, the pilgrimage had many goals. The poor had their sins absolved, the churches gained parishioners, and the nobility gained subjects for the newly liberated countryside. You might say that in this way everyone's prayers were answered.

     Ahhh - but what do modern pilgrims expect to find on this journey? Well - some hope for salvation, some, indulgences, and others, a renewal of the faith carried in their hearts. For me, as with many, it was also the pleasure of a walk in the beautiful Spanish countryside, with the fantastic food of Galicia as a reward at journey’s end.

    It is the legend of the cock and the hen that helped me to understand the pilgrimage best. It is told that in Medieval times a couple and their teenage son were on the road to Santiago when the pious lad spurned the advances of an inn-keeper's daughter. Angered, the girl hid her silver in his bag and reported it stolen. The penalty for thievery was hanging, so the local magistrate sentenced the boy to death. When his parent’s cries for mercy fell on deaf ears, they continued their pilgrimage, but now, whatever indulgences they thought were important before - were long forgotten. They traveled to the tomb of St James to ask that their son's life be spared.

    On their return, they found their son hanging from a tree, with St James supporting him from beneath to keep him from strangling. They quickly cut him down and went to the magistrate to have the sentence reversed. Seated before his dinner he said "Your son is as dead as the chicken I'm about to eat." With that, the cock and the hen stood up on his plate and the cock crowed.  Seeing this second miracle by St James, the judge reversed his ruling and declared the boy innocent. On the road to Santiago it is still considered good fortune to hear the cock crow.

     It is not told what the original reason for the couple's pilgrimage was, but their greatest wish became apparent on the journey, and their son's life was spared. I walked the pilgrim's path wondering if, as the boy's parents did, I would know what it was I truly wanted when the time came to ask - and if I even had the strength to test my faith by asking. I thought of so many selfish things, and so many pious things, even presumptuous things to ask for that, in the end, when I followed the custom in the Cathedral of St James and climbed the stairs behind the altar to embrace the statue of the apostle, my mind went blank.

    Then, suddenly - from my heart came one pure thought was all three -- pious, presumptuous and selfish. When my turn came, I asked St James for peace.

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BIO - Richard has been writing culinary travel articles for more than five years as a columnist for his local newspapers, and as a regular contributor to the many Hudson Valley, Catskill Mountain and other regional New York publications. His most recent addition to that list is a wine column called “Fruit of the Vine” for Life in the Finger Lakes magazine. Online, he writes frequent articles for EDGE publications and Travel Lady, as well as Gather.

You can read all of Richard's articles at  http://rfrisbie.gather.com/