Echoes from past |
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The attractive Romanesque church of Santiago in Villafranca
del Bierzo. On the left of this picture there is the north portal, Puerta
del Perdón. In earlier times the pilgrims who made it to this far
but were too sick or injured to continue to Santiago de Compostela (about
185 km from here), could enter the church through Puerta del Perdón,
take communion and receive pardon for their sins, that is the same spiritual
benefits as if they had compleated their pilgrimage. The reason why sick and injured could not go further is the long and steep climb to the mountain village of O Cebreiro that waits for the pilgim next day (from 511 m at Villafranca to 1300 m at O Cebreiro). There was a hospice for pilgrims in O Cebreiro already in 11th century, but there might have been one as early as in 9th century. The modern interest towards the Camino is largely due to the work of a local priest, Father Elías Valiña Sampedro, who dedicated his life to both the history of O Cebreiro and the practical and academic aspects of pilgrimage. Valiña's most videly read book is El Camino de Santiago (1985), first of the modern guides the the Road for walking pilgrim.
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