Many of our readers, while they are preparing to do the Camino in the future, will have heard that the year 2021 is special, since it is "Jacobean Year". What does this mean?
For the Catholic Church, the Jacobean Holy Year is the one in which the 25 July (the festivity of Santiago Apóstol) falls in Sunday, and indeed, the next time this event will take place is in 2021 (and the next time in 2027). For believers, this means that they will obtain full indulgence for sins if:
- They visit the cathedral of Santiago. (Actually, it is not necessary to have arrived on a pilgrimage, nor to have completed the Camino; you only need to arrive in Santiago).
- They say some prayer (at least the Creed or the Our Father).
- They receive the sacraments of penance and communion.
The Jacobean Year is also special, because only on those occasions is the Holy Door of the cathedral opened.
Indulgence can also be obtained, for those pilgrims who cannot reach Santiago for reasons of illness or accident, if you reach the town of Villafranca del Bierzo and cross the Puerta del Perdón of its church.
This tradition was established in the year 1120 by the pope Callistus II, and contributed greatly to the rise of pilgrimages to Santiago during the Middle Ages. (Some readers versed in the history of the Camino may be familiar with the name of Calixto II: this is because the famous "Codex Calixtinus" takes its name from a letter that appears at the beginning of the codex, supposedly written by said pope).
From a practical point of view, in the Jacobean years the number of pilgrims increases considerably, so it is advisable to plan and reserve accommodation in advance (especially in Santiago). Of course, there is also another alternative, and that is to do the Camino in a non-Jacobean year like 2020 itself…
