The extraordinary national offering to the apostle Santiago of King Felipe VI in this biannual holy year caused by the pandemic has once again been marked this morning by crises, such as the serious wave of fires that is hitting Spain, the war in Ukraine and economic uncertainty . The King requested the support of the apostle for those who fight against the fire, claimed the validity and strength of the European project in the face of current challenges and expressed his conviction in Spain's ability to move forward, because "it has values", it does not lack or “ambition or courage” and has “character”. "Permanent change already seems like the current state of things," he said.
The words of the head of state were heard from the bench occupied by the authorities by four Galicians, in an unusual circumstance. It was the president of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, who for the first time participated in this type of act; his predecessor in office and now head of the opposition in Spain as leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and with the vice presidents of the Government Nadia Calviño and Yolanda Díaz sitting between them.
In the renovated temple of Compostela, 379 years after the captain general of Galicia made the first offering in the name of Felipe IV, Felipe VI complied with the tradition of personally going to Santiago to make it in the Holy Year, while in the other exercises he delegates in different personalities or he attends, as he had already done in 2014 and 2020. As in 2021, he went to the Plaza del Obradoiro accompanied by Queen Letizia and the Princess of Asturias and the Infanta Sofía.
On behalf of the four, and in his third consecutive offering, he expressed his "solidarity and respect" to all those affected by the plague of forest fires. It was the question with which he practically began his intervention and to which he devoted the most space. He confirmed that "they are devastating so many places in Spain", including Galicia, "which knows well what it is to suffer the scourge of fires". Felipe VI made reference to the people "who have had to be evacuated from their homes, who have lost their houses, their crops, their livestock, their way of life, life itself." And he conveyed "sincere condolences to the families of the deceased in these moments of deep sadness and dismay."
“I want to ask the Apostle Santiago for the protection of those who fight every day against this drama; of all those people who, in the face of this serious situation, do not hesitate to help others, demonstrating their solid sense of community", said the King, after thanking the "titanic effort of those who participate in the extinction tasks", as well as the work of the coordination and support services, as well as the collaboration of volunteers and neighbors.
In an intervention packed with references to the transformative experience of the Camino and its condition as a vault arch in European construction, Felipe VI went from the fire of the forests to that of the weapons in the Ukraine. Thus, he pointed out that when "the horror of war reappears in the Old Continent, we must unitedly claim, and in this special Holy Year, the civic, cultural and spiritual values of the Camino de Santiago".
The King maintained that, although the current conflict may seem physically far away, the closeness springs up “when we think of the people, the women, men and children, who have seen a broken coexistence that, at this time, in this 21st century of progress and growth seemed assured. Peace must mark the north of our compass. Now and always".
Difficulties in the economy, trade and energy appeared in the monarch's speech, as conditioning factors of contemporary Europe, on which he claimed the priority of the "values of democracy and culture on the basis of the consolidation of our great common project”.
This second part of the exceptional two-year Xacobeo, prolonged by the pandemic, is far from being as easy as could be expected after the worst of the health emergency has passed. However, the head of state wanted to emphasize that “in all this time our ability to get ahead has not been weakened. Because Spain has values; the values of a responsible people, determined, strong, supportive, who have walked the path with integrity. We have never lacked ambition or courage. Because Spain has character. And she has shown it through her story, she shows it day by day and she will show it always”.
