Perdón me

[davejsy]

Yes, pardon me.

So I've just read this cool article about the closing of the Puerta del Perdón in the Monastery of Santo Toribio for the holy year (and it is a very beautiful peurta for sure). It seems that the Spanish like places that pardon you. For instance the beautiful Alto del Perdón, and also the Puerta del Perdón in Villafranca del Bierzo.

Obviously walking to Santiago de Compostela is also meant to offer similar forgiveness upon the satisfactory conclusion of all the varying routes, but I was just wondering if there were any other places other than the above that claim to do so? (asking for a friend).

​

 

[dougfitz]

I was just wondering if there were any other places other than the above that claim to do so? (asking for a friend).

This is most kind, but I find myself guided by the biblical injunction:

Any why seest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye; and seest not the beam that is in thy own eye?

So I am just a little selfish. I tend to look to my own welfare in these matters, and let my friends fend for themselves

 

[dbier]

Kind of confused by your question, so bear with me. I ended up using Google Translate, much to my shame

If you're asking if ( deep breath):
the Roman Catholic Church sponsors events at various times ( particularly during Lent and the Easter season) in various locations around the world ( there are both general jubilee years, and specific ones in specific areas, which this is) to invite the faithful to contemplate their need for and ask for God's mercy, and to celebrate that mercy? That's a resounding yes. I could rattle off a round half dozen in my home archdiocese without using Google.

What is your specific question? I'm not up on Spanish jubilee years and/ or celebrations. You'd be best served by seeing if the archdiocese you're interested in has a webpage.

Best of luck.

 

[davejsy]

Kind of confused by your question, so bear with me. I ended up using Google Translate, much to my shame

If you're asking if ( deep breath):
the Roman Catholic Church sponsors events at various times ( particularly during Lent and the Easter season) in various locations around the world ( there are both general jubilee years, and specific ones in specific areas, which this is) to invite the faithful to contemplate their need for and ask for God's mercy, and to celebrate that mercy? That's a resounding yes. I could rattle off a round half dozen in my home archdiocese without using Google.

What is your specific question? I'm not up on Spanish jubilee years and/ or celebrations. You'd be best served by seeing if the archdiocese you're interested in has a webpage.

Best of luck.

Well it seems these places have doors of forgiveness to pass through, or in the case if Alto del Perdon a mountain/hill to summit to climb to gain such forgiveness/absolution where coveted.

My question is a bit tongue in cheek (I have a bad sense of humour). But these kind of things I find fascinating, so I was just wondering if there were other such places.

The Puerta del Perdon in Villafranca for instance it was said that if a pilgrim made it thus far but was too ill to continue to Santiago then the pilgrim would receive the same pardon that they would if they had of made Santiago.

 

[Kathor1]

it seems these places have doors of forgiveness to pass through, or in the case if Alto del Perdon a mountain/hill to summit to climb to gain such forgiveness/absolution where coveted.

The northern portal of the church in Villafranca is a unique special case while any story about climbing up to the Alto del Perdón and gaining forgiveness or absolution is simply one of the many made-up narratives of current Camino lore without any documented background.

The sierra originally had a different name. A chapel was built on it and named after Nuestra Señora del Perdón and eventually Perdón became the name for the range of hills and for the pass used for the current Camino Francés trail.

Nuestra Señora del Perdón is known as Our Lady of Mercy or Virgin of Mercy in English. Wikipedia describes it as a motif of Christian art that became particularly popular in 13th to 16th centuries. The Madonna is shown as holding out her cloak to provide shelter for a group of people.

Churches who have a Holy Door or Door of Mercy obtained this privilege from a pope. The cathedrals of Burgos and Leon have portals that are permanently named Puerta del Perdón, according to Gitlitz/Davidson's Cultural Handbook for the Camino Francés. For Villafranca del Bierzo, Gitlitz/Davidson write "according to tradition" (i.e. not documented) and that this privilege was confirmed by the 15th century popes Urban II and Calixto III.

These days, the Pope often grants the privilege of a Holy Year with a Door of Mercy to a cathedral or other church for a limited period of time, often in connection with celebrating the anniversary of some important past event, for example to the Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada in 2019 (1000th anniversary of the birth of the saint) and to the Cathedral of Burgos in 2021 (800 years since consecration). Both cathedrals designated one of their portals as Door of Mercy.

The Doors of Mercy are a symbol in relation to obtaining a plenary indulgence and this is only for Catholics.

 

[Kathor1]

@davejsy, I realise that your question is "a bit tongue in cheek", so apology for not continuing in this vein. When a forum thread interests me it is often surprising what a bit of googling reveals.

For example, I and many others simply copy-pasted the information that popes Calixtinus III and Urbanus II granted the privilege of a plenary indulgence to the Santiago church in Villafranca. It is of course nonsense or rather a "tradition has it" item . Pope Urbanus II lived in the 11th century and Holy Years had not yet been invented. Calixtinus III is more likely as he lived later but apparently nobody has yet located a papal bull that would actually confirm that he granted the privilege to the church in Villafranca.

The Villafranca tradition had apparently its ups and downs throughout the centuries. For more than a hundred years at least the Puerta del Perdón of the church was closed by a brick wall. The reasons for this are unknown. The barrier was dismantled in 1948 - a Compostela Holy Year.

Apparently, a pilgrimage carried out in the Holy Year of 1948 by a group of members of the Falange Española [an organisation under the Franco regime] encouraged several residents of Villafranca to try to store their emblematic church. That was the germ of the founding of the Cofradía de Nuestra Señora de las Angustias y de los Caballeros de Santiago who initiated and were in charge of restoring the church building and of demolishing the wall that covered the Puerta del Perdón. Finally, in 1962 it was officially reopened.

The door is now symbolically opened at the start of every Jacobean Holy Year.

Despedida jacobea | Castilla y León | elmundo.es

Despedida jacobea La Puerta del Perdón de la iglesia de Santiago de Villafranca del Bierzo se cerrará este viernes hasta diciembre de 2020.

www.elmundo.es

 

[ChrisAP]

Yes, pardon me.

So I've just read this cool article about the closing of the Puerta del Perdón in the Monastery of Santo Toribio for the holy year (and it is a very beautiful peurta for sure). It seems that the Spanish like places that pardon you. For instance the beautiful Alto del Perdón, and also the Puerta del Perdón in Villafranca del Bierzo.

Obviously walking to Santiago de Compostela is also meant to offer similar forgiveness upon the satisfactory conclusion of all the varying routes, but I was just wondering if there were any other places other than the above that claim to do so? (asking for a friend).
View attachment 167684

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Per Gitlitz & Davidson, the north portal, the Puerta del Perdón, was founded by the bishop of Astorga in 1186...and pilgrims who were too sick to continue their travels to Santiago could enter the church (Iglesia de Santiago in Villafranca del Bierzo) through this door, take communion, and receive pardon for their sins. And this door is only open during Holy years.

 

[davejsy]

@davejsy, I realise that your question is "a bit tongue in cheek", so apology for not continuing in this vein. When a forum thread interests me it is often surprising what a bit of googling reveals.

For example, I and many others simply copy-pasted the information that popes Calixtinus III and Urbanus II granted the privilege of a plenary indulgence to the Santiago church in Villafranca. It is of course nonsense or rather a "tradition has it" item . Pope Urbanus II lived in the 11th century and Holy Years had not yet been invented. Calixtinus III is more likely as he lived later but apparently nobody has yet located a papal bull that would actually confirm that he granted the privilege to the church in Villafranca.

The Villafranca tradition had apparently its ups and downs throughout the centuries. For more than a hundred years at least the Puerta del Perdón of the church was closed by a brick wall. The reasons for this are unknown. The barrier was dismantled in 1948 - a Compostela Holy Year.

Apparently, a pilgrimage carried out in the Holy Year of 1948 by a group of members of the Falange Española [an organisation under the Franco regime] encouraged several residents of Villafranca to try to store their emblematic church. That was the germ of the founding of the Cofradía de Nuestra Señora de las Angustias y de los Caballeros de Santiago who initiated and were in charge of restoring the church building and of demolishing the wall that covered the Puerta del Perdón. Finally, in 1962 it was officially reopened.

The door is now symbolically opened at the start of every Jacobean Holy Year.

Despedida jacobea | Castilla y León | elmundo.es

Despedida jacobea La Puerta del Perdón de la iglesia de Santiago de Villafranca del Bierzo se cerrará este viernes hasta diciembre de 2020.

www.elmundo.es

How interesting, crazy to think it was bricked up and why this might have been.

 

[Kathor1]

How interesting, crazy to think it was bricked up and why this might have been.

I am delighted by your response because this gives me the opportunity to post a photo that was taken of the door in the early 1900s in the context of creating a catalogue of monuments in the region.

As far as I understand it, the church is (and was) no longer used as a parish church. Mass or similar public events take place only a few times a year on special occasions. The church was apparently in a ruinous state before the renovation works were undertaken several decades ago. It reminds me of the Iglesia del Sepulcro in Estella which is also not in use. So my personal guess would be that the north portal was bricked up in the same way as the doors and windows of other buildings in a similar abandoned state are bricked up and only a single door remains accessible for entrance and access to the building.

Here is the photo of the north portal (main portal) of the Iglesia Santiago Apostol in Villafranca del Bierzo at the beginning of the 20th century:

 

[Kathor1]

@davejsy, like you I am fascinated by this stuff - both the beauty and meaning of Romanesque art and the stories and traditions connected with it. Your post has made me read a bit more about it. I had known about the special function of the portal during Jacobean Holy Years and I had seen photos and articles about the symbolic opening by a bishop or priest and also photos and an article when a pilgrim actually walked through it in 2022 and they organised a mass for him.

What I did not know is the fact that the portal is symbolically opened during a ceremony at the start of a Holy Year but the wooden door itself remains shut throughout the Holy Year and it is in fact only opened when there is a pilgrim who is injured or otherwise ill and cannot continue and knows - or is being told - about the plenary indulgence tradition. They don't open the door for everyone who would like to walk through and, as mentioned before, as a plenary indulgence requires confession, absolution and taking the eucharist, it gets opened for Catholic pilgrims only.

La Puerta del Perdón de Villafranca del Bierzo se abre para que un peregrino italiano herido consiga el Jubileo | El Bierzo Noticias

Riccardo Puelli, de 73 años y natural de la localidad italiana de Bérgamo, sufrió una caída en la zona de Riego de Ambrós mientras realizaba la Ruta Jacobea que inició e

www.elbierzonoticias.com

 

[davejsy]

I am delighted by your response because this gives me the opportunity to post a photo that was taken of the door in the early 1900s in the context of creating a catalogue of monuments in the region.

As far as I understand it, the church is (and was) no longer used as a parish church. Mass or similar public events take place only a few times a year on special occasions. The church was apparently in a ruinous state before the renovation works were undertaken several decades ago. It reminds me of the Iglesia del Sepulcro in Estella which is also not in use. So my personal guess would be that the north portal was bricked up in the same way as the doors and windows of other buildings in a similar abandoned state are bricked up and only a single door remains accessible for entrance and access to the building.

Here is the photo of the north portal (main portal) of the Iglesia Santiago Apostol in Villafranca del Bierzo at the beginning of the 20th century:

View attachment 167774

If you look at the photo in my original post, the puerta at Santa Toribio is almost exactly the same (has the 3 pillars etc), so is this just a general coincidence or is there some method to the design of such puertas for the function?

 

[davejsy]

@davejsy, like you I am fascinated by this stuff

I'm glad it's not just me! Any cool/quirky traditions, superstitions or folklore are like a magnet for me!