Besides being a rather central spot in Berry, La Châtre is also a town visited by pilgrims on their way to Sainte Jacques de Compostelle (Santiago de Compostella/Sainte James of Compostela).In a former church (not used as such now and called a 'chapel'), we listened to a lecture concerning Sainte Jacques de Compostelle hosted by members of an organisation interested in and spreading knowledge around the history of pilgrimage and promoting pilgrimage as such.
The lecturers started talking about Sainte Jacques/Saint James and the origin of the scriptures in the Bible attributed to him:
Classical questions as: "Who was he"; "Was he the brother of John as is stated in the Bible?" etc.
According to legend he was the first of the apostles to die as a martyr during the reign of Agrippa I (or Herod Agrippa), in the year 44.
His body is said to have been transported to Spain in a miraculous way and he is also the Patron Saint of Spain.
The lecturers also talked about the different 'roads' a pilgrim can use when travelling through France. At least three main roads traverse France on the way to Santiago de Compostella.
Some pilgrims were present in the hall and they gave us their stories around and experiences of the pilgrimage. Some had done it using a bicycle but most of them had walked this road, halting in different towns in order to sleep and eat, e.g. La Châtre.
A couple of pilgrimes had done this trip several times and others once or twice.
My mother-in-law has hosted several pilgrims in her chambres d'hôtes - Les roses trémières - during these last three years and this year was no exception.
(Photo copyright: http://www.marypages.com/Santiago%20de%20CompostelaG.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment