- Time of past OR future Camino
- Many, various, and continuing.
After five long and costly years of restoration, the 13th c. Church of the Peregrina in Sahagun is now open to visitors. It stands on a bluff on the southwestern side of town (the Camino de Madrid comes into town right alongside), and is supposed to someday house a Center of Documentation for the Camino de Santiago -- but these days nobody has a clear idea what that means. I also could not learn if the beloved statue and painting of La Peregrina, an apparition that guided a long-ago lost pilgrim to shelter and salvation, will be returned to its original home here. (it is the centerpiece of the Madres Benedictinas museum down the hill.)
The striking Mudejar brick church has been cleaned and repointed, its alabaster windows restored and its spectacular Arabic plasterwork rescued from the rainwater and nests of pigeons that have shared its chapel for years. Remains of several burials were found during the restoration, and for some reason two skeletons and a mummified body are now on display. The building is deconsecrated, so no pews or other liturgical furnishings are part of the scene. An elaborate garden now stands where the cloister and monastic buildings once were, cared-for by Sahagun municipal workers. No one at the place seems to know what will become of it. See it while you can.
It costs 2 Euros to enter, but a sign outside says pilgrims with credentials are free. Check with the tourist office at the pilgrim albergue before you climb the hill, though -- opening hours are erratic.
The striking Mudejar brick church has been cleaned and repointed, its alabaster windows restored and its spectacular Arabic plasterwork rescued from the rainwater and nests of pigeons that have shared its chapel for years. Remains of several burials were found during the restoration, and for some reason two skeletons and a mummified body are now on display. The building is deconsecrated, so no pews or other liturgical furnishings are part of the scene. An elaborate garden now stands where the cloister and monastic buildings once were, cared-for by Sahagun municipal workers. No one at the place seems to know what will become of it. See it while you can.
It costs 2 Euros to enter, but a sign outside says pilgrims with credentials are free. Check with the tourist office at the pilgrim albergue before you climb the hill, though -- opening hours are erratic.
