What is the El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage?

This El Camino de Santiago pilgrimage is also called The Way of St. James or St. James’ Way.
The Way of St. James has existed for over a thousand years. It was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times, together with Rome and Jerusalem, and a pilgrimage route on which a plenary indulgence could be earned; other major pilgrimage routes include the Via Francigena to Rome and the pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

James, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, is the Patron Saint of Spain. According to ancient local tradition, on January 2nd of the year AD 40, the Virgin Mary appeared to James on the bank of the Ebro River at Caesaraugusta, while he was preaching the Gospel in Iberia. Following that apparition, St. James returned to Judea, where he was beheaded by King Herod Agrippa I in the year AD 44. Legend holds that St. James’s remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to Iberia, where they landed at Padrón on the coast of Galicia, and took it inland for burial at what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela.

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St James Way History