Of all the places that the pilgrim finds along the Camino de Santiago, there are few with a more special meaning than the monastery of Saint John of Ortega, in the province of Burgos. Built by the saint of the same name, the monument has been associated with the Jacobean pilgrimage since its foundation.
Juan de Velázquez was born in the Burgos town of Quintanaortuño in 1080, and from a young age he dedicated himself to improving the conditions of the Camino de Santiago, building bridges and paving roads, in collaboration with Santo Domingo de la Calzada. The decision to build the monastery arose from his pilgrimage to Jerusalem. According to legend, on the return trip his ship suffered a shipwreck, and Saint John prayed to Saint Nicholas of Bari, promising to build a chapel in his honor if he was saved. He was saved, so upon his return the work of building it began in the Montes de Oca area.
The San Juan de Ortega complex is made up of the original chapel, the Romanesque church built next to it (in which the saint is currently buried), the monastery and the pilgrims' hostel. From an artistic point of view, the church stands out for its so-called capital of the annunciation, which tells the story of the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary by the Archangel Gabriel.
the miracle of light
Precisely in this capital one of the most curious phenomena related to the monastery takes place, which has been called "the miracle of light". Every spring and autumn equinox (March 21 and September 22), at five in the afternoon (solar time) a ray of light enters the church and runs through the capital from left and right, thus “telling” the story. of the Annunciation.
