The most embraced image in the world?

[Bradypus]

Just saw this article which has some information about the great silver-caped image of the Apostle in the cathedral in Santiago. Also some explanation of the history and symbolism of the ornate decoration around the high altar.

El Apóstol en la Catedral de Santiago: la imagen más abrazada del mundo

El Apóstol sentado centra el Altar Mayor, figura románica, cejas levantadas, ojos abiertos, como asustado al ver tantos peregrinos en su casa. Es la imagen más abrazada del mundo.

www.mundiario.com

​

 

[Indy]

I read you could not embrace the saint now due to Covid. True?
I hope not!

 

[Bradypus]

I read you could not embrace the saint now due to Covid. True?
I hope not!

It wasn't possible back in February when I last visited. Recent arrivals should know what the current situation is.

 

[dmlooney]

As of late May you could not. You can go visit the tomb.

 

[JPL]

As of June 12, the door was closed when I visited the cathedral in the early morning.

 

[Mfazio]

As of June 12, the door was closed when I visited the cathedral in the early morning.

Yes, we were there June 9 and access was closed.

 

[dbier]

Wasn't able to hug the Apostle in July 2021...Covid. And at that time, we weren't permitted to wander in the Church in between Masses, due to feast day crowds and Masses closed to the public and Covid. All we could do was walk in the Holy door, down to and past the tomb, and back out. Museum wasn't even open on that Sunday. :/

 

[Former member 94614]

It wasn't possible back in February when I last visited. Recent arrivals should know what the current situation is.

still can't

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

I read you could not embrace the saint now due to Covid. True?
I hope not!

Still can't.

 

[David Tallan]

Another pilgrim tradition comes to an end. At the end of my first pilgrimage, I was able to place my hand on the Tree of Jesse column in the Portico of Glory and bump heads with Master Matteo. Both are no longer permitted. We're going to have to start creating new traditions to replace the ones falling away.

Any suggestions?

 

[Former member 94614]

Another pilgrim tradition comes to an end. At the end of my first pilgrimage, I was able to place my hand on the Tree of Jesse column in the Portico of Glory and bump heads with Master Matteo. Both are no longer permitted. We're going to have to start creating new traditions to replace the ones falling away.

Any suggestions?

(now we have to buy a ticket for portico of glory from the cathedral museum- both very much well worth it and they have a pilgrim discount)

 

[Bradypus]

(now we have to buy a ticket for portico of glory from the cathedral museum- both very much well worth it and they have a pilgrim discount)

I find that very sad. Like @David Tallan I have very fond memories of ending my journey by climbing the steps from the Obradoiro, entering the great east door, placing my hand on the pillar and greeting Master Mateo. Still carrying my pack. Having first of all to find somewhere to store my gear and then making my way past security guards through a side entrance to get in just lacks the touch of drama.

 

[Saint Mike II]

Another pilgrim tradition comes to an end. At the end of my first pilgrimage, I was able to place my hand on the Tree of Jesse column in the Portico of Glory and bump heads with Master Matteo. Both are no longer permitted. We're going to have to start creating new traditions to replace the ones falling away.

Any suggestions?

Hola David - I can understand why we pilgrims can no longer "touch" the column. Bur surely a pilgrim should still be able to kneel before the Portico of Glory to give thanks for St James watching over us on our pilgrimage. Any thoughts ?? Cheers

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

(now we have to buy a ticket for portico of glory from the cathedral museum- both very much well worth it and they have a pilgrim discount)

We went to the Portico for free last month.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Bur surely a pilgrim should still be able to kneel before the Portico of Glory to give thanks for St James watching over us

You still can , by a ticket in the museum and off you go.

 

[SioCamino]

You can visit the Pórtico de Gloria for free but with a ticket.... The unguided visit, tickets available from the Cathedral website and can be booked a week in advance IIRC.

When i was in SdC in April I also did the night visit to the Cathedral (€25?) which was fabulous but all though Spanish. Highly recommend if you can follow the guide.

I would be amazed if they re-allow touch access to the Saint given the efforts and presumably costs involved in restoring it.

For anyone that hasn't visited the cathedral since the restoration work, you are in for a treat. They did a really wonderful job on it. The lighting is amazing and the Cathedral looks spectacular.

Enjoy!

 

[Saint Mike II]

Hola @SioCamino One of the activities pushing me to return to the Camino (Porto-SDC). Thanks for the info. Cheers

 

[Sho]

You can visit the Pórtico de Gloria for free but with a ticket.... The unguided visit, tickets available from the Cathedral website and can be booked a week in advance IIRC.

When i was in SdC in April I also did the night visit to the Cathedral (€25?) which was fabulous but all though Spanish. Highly recommend if you can follow the guide.

I would be amazed if they re-allow touch access to the Saint given the efforts and presumably costs involved in restoring it.

For anyone that hasn't visited the cathedral since the restoration work, you are in for a treat. They did a really wonderful job on it. The lighting is amazing and the Cathedral looks spectacular.

Enjoy!

The night tour and the restoration were both terrific.

 

[Kathar1na]

I read you could not embrace the saint now due to Covid. True? I hope not!

True. A number of public health related measures are in place at the Cathedral of Santiago.

For the general public: No hugging of the statue (I believe you cannot even walk up the steps to the statue). Face masks must be worn throughout the visit.

For mass: The clergy, singer and assistants all wear face masks all the time during mass unless speaking or singing; people must receive on their hands and not in the mouth; clergy and others wear face marks and do not say "el cuerpo de Cristo" each time, instead it is said once at the beginning and the congregation responds once with amen. It is explained beforehand at every mass.

 

[Kathar1na]

But surely a pilgrim should still be able to kneel before the Portico of Glory to give thanks for St James watching over us on our pilgrimage.

If a pilgrim needs to give thanks in front of the Saint James statue of the Portico de la Gloria and not in front of any other statue of Saint James in or on the Cathedral or none - I can think of at least 4 other Saint James statues there plus the silver reliquary box of course in front of which there is a small bench for kneeling and praying - s/he can certainly do so. Get a paid or free ticket, enter the Cathedral through the crypt via the iron gate on the same level as the Praza do Obradoiro, and find your way up to the Portico.

What is not possible: Do as seen in the movie The Way where one character (the one from the Netherlands) walks through the main portal that you reach when going up the stairs from Obradoiro and falls on his knees there and then. These large portal doors are closed and I guess that they will remain closed for the general public - a question of climate / humidity / change of temperature etc etc, all of which is no doubt potentially damaging for the statues that have been restored at great cost.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

If a pilgrim needs to give thanks in front of the Saint James statue of the Portico de la Gloria and not in front of any other statue of Saint James in or on the Cathedral or none - I can think of at least 4 other Saint James statues there plus the silver reliquary box of course in front of which there is a small bench for kneeling and praying - s/he can certainly do so. Get a paid or free ticket, enter the Cathedral through the crypt via the iron gate on the same level as the Praza do Obradoiro, and find your way up to the Portico.

What is not possible: Do as seen in the movie The Way where one character (the one from the Netherlands) walks through the main portal that you reach when going up the stairs from Obradoiro and falls on his knees there and then. These large portal doors are closed and I guess that they will remain closed for the general public - a question of climate / humidity / change of temperature etc etc, all of which is no doubt potentially damaging for the statues that have been restored at great cost.

When we visited the Portico late April the doors where open .We could look inside the cathedral.

 

[Camembert]

If a pilgrim needs to give thanks in front of the Saint James statue of the Portico de la Gloria and not in front of any other statue of Saint James in or on the Cathedral or none - I can think of at least 4 other Saint James statues there plus the silver reliquary box of course in front of which there is a small bench for kneeling and praying - s/he can certainly do so. Get a paid or free ticket, enter the Cathedral through the crypt via the iron gate on the same level as the Praza do Obradoiro, and find your way up to the Portico.

What is not possible: Do as seen in the movie The Way where one character (the one from the Netherlands) walks through the main portal that you reach when going up the stairs from Obradoiro and falls on his knees there and then. These large portal doors are closed and I guess that they will remain closed for the general public - a question of climate / humidity / change of temperature etc etc, all of which is no doubt potentially damaging for the statues that have been restored at great cost.

The Dutch guy in The Way , representing the cliché that all Dutch use drugs .
Fortunately that is not true. A pity the producers of this great movie made this unforgivable mistake.

 

[SabsP]

The Dutch guy in The Way , representing the cliché that all Dutch use drugs .
Fortunately that is not true. A pity the producers of this great movie made this unforgivable mistake.

Unforgivable mistake? Why?

Directors / scriptwriters of a movie take us with them into their world / fantasy. A movie is a creative process with subjective elements.
Otherwise it would be called a documentary.

So give the viewers some credit. They will be able to make the distinction between facts and fantasy.

 

[Kathar1na]

When we visited the Portico late April the doors where open .We could look inside the cathedral.

There may be a misunderstanding.

Each time that I look at the Obradoiro webcam all four of the entrance doors on the outside of the Cathedral on the first level are closed. Nobody walks up or down the staircase and no pilgrim enters the Cathedral from the outside at this location.

At opening times, the entry to the crypt on the lower level is open and there are guards who check tickets.

The provisional wooden protection screen that, at the inside, separated the Portico de la Gloria from the nave was dismantled many months ago. So you see the nave from the Portico and you see the Portico from the nave. But as far as I understand it, one cannot even walk from the Portico space into the nave as there are guards and crowd control barriers that keep the two spaces separate. Pilgrims enter the Cathedral either through the Holy Door on the Praza da Quintana or through the portals on the Praza das Praterias but not from Obradoiro (unlike in the movie and in years before the massive and very costly restoration works).

 

[Camembert]

Unforgivable mistake? Why?

Directors / scriptwriters of a movie take us with them into their world / fantasy. A movie is a creative process with subjective elements.
Otherwise it would be called a documentary.

So give the viewers some credit. They will be able to make the distinction between facts and fantasy.

Generalising ! Is the word. Never generalize. Most Dutch do not use drug so the producers did not do their creative homework well. Nevertheless it is a beautifull movie.

 

[Kathar1na]

but not from Obradoiro (unlike in the movie and in years before the massive and very costly restoration works).

I wonder for how long it has not been possible to enter the Cathedral directly from the Praza do Obradoiro.

It sounds all rather complicated: the underlying structural defaults of the towers/façade/Portico complex and the methods and materials used to repair them more than a century ago and the subsequent damage caused by these very repair attempts, largely due to changes in ventilation and humidity and so on.

 

[Peregrinopaul]

The Dutch guy in The Way , representing the cliché that all Dutch use drugs .
Fortunately that is not true. A pity the producers of this great movie made this unforgivable mistake.

Drugs? I thought it was tobacco booster.
(I hope I'm not contributing to another thread hijack - my brain is pre-wired to respond every time The Way comes up).

 

[Camembert]

Drugs? I thought it was tobacco booster.
(I hope I'm not contributing to another thread hijack - my brain is pre-wired to respond every time The Way comes up).

If you count cabanis/ weets to tabacco ,yes

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

There may be a misunderstanding.

Each time that I look at the Obradoiro webcam all four of the entrance doors on the outside of the Cathedral on the first level are closed. Nobody walks up or down the staircase and no pilgrim enters the Cathedral from the outside at this location.

At opening times, the entry to the crypt on the lower level is open and there are guards who check tickets.

The provisional wooden protection screen that, at the inside, separated the Portico de la Gloria from the nave was dismantled many months ago. So you see the nave from the Portico and you see the Portico from the nave. But as far as I understand it, one cannot even walk from the Portico space into the nave as there are guards and crowd control barriers that keep the two spaces separate. Pilgrims enter the Cathedral either through the Holy Door on the Praza da Quintana or through the portals on the Praza das Praterias but not from Obradoiro (unlike in the movie and in years before the massive and very costly restoration works).

View attachment 127955

I wasn't talking about the outside doors , when you are inside looking at the Portico you can als look in side the cathedral that's what I said.