Noon Mass & Pilgrim Rituals 3/2/11

I thought I'd take a few minutes to let you know about the Pilgrim's Mass at the  Cathedral of Santiago today and a bit about some of the Pilgrim's traditional rituals.

There are several Pilgrim rituals that each are apparently supposed to do once they reach Santiago and the Cathedral. Much of the time, Pilgrims stay somewhere close by to Santiago before coming into town the next morning before the noon "Pilgrim's Mass" and then, with backpack, smelly clothes and all, they attend Mass, as well as carry out all the rituals that have been passed down over the years.  Each of the rituals have different meanings, but don't expect me to know them all (one makes you smarter, one takes all your sins, and another one-- ahh, I forget).  Because I arrived in Santiago at 4:00 pm yesterday, I attended Mass today, with clean clothes and no backpack.

Some of the Pilgrim rituals: pass through the narrow corridor that overlooks the altar and the back side of a gold-laden statue of St. James that serves as the centerpiece- take hold of St. James' giant shoulders and give him a big squeeze with your head on the sea shell. Next, go to the underground crypt that showcases the very expensive  looking silver casket that allegedly houses the be-headed remains of St. James the Greater, where you are supposed to kneel and pray or say thanks. Another one- attend the Mass. At the Mass, the priest states (in a very anonymous manner) the Pilgrims who have arrived from their Camino Pilgrimage along with their Country of origin and where the started from. For those of you wondering, my name was not announced at the mass, just that there was an American who started from St. Jean P de P.

Also, there are special Masses where they use the ceiling-suspended, 120 pound botafumeiro (a fancy term for a flying pendulum-like incense burner). This is used everyday during Holy Years (last one 2010), but in non-Holy Years, its hit and miss. The incense burner was originally utilized to mask the odor of incoming Pilgrims.

There were several pilgrims who had just arrived that I met or had contact with on the Camino that were at mass. Etsuko was there, having arrived today after taking a bus from Leon. Also, a total treat was meeting with Axel from Germany whom I had the pleasure of walking with after Villalcazar de Sirga. He was a Pilgrim via bicycle who was wonderful enough to walk with me for about 20K that day, and shared great conversation with me.  Axel arrived in Santiago a few days ago and was flying back home this afternoon.  He said he came to Mass each day while he was in Santiago in order to see which Pilgrims were arriving.  He and I fled the latter portion of today's mass, though, to go have some lunch and good conversation before he had to leave. Great guy!

As for tomorrow, I am planning on going to the open-air market where they sell big Galician cheese balls in the shape of women's breasts...

Photos: Me and Axel at lunch & an "as close as I could get" photo of the Cathedral altar.