Since Wednesday, the Plaza de la Azabachería in Compostela has been hosting queues of tourists and pilgrims waiting for the moment in which, before the pandemic, the most sought-after photo by visitors was taken, that of the hug to the figure of the Apostle Santiago. By now they should be starting to flood Instagram, if it weren't because, by recovering the rite interrupted by the coronavirus of going up to the main altar of the cathedral, the chapter has prohibited taking that iconic image, to expedite the visit.
However, in the decision of the ecclesiastical authorities, the weight of a commitment to a more spiritual approach compared to another rite, the current one, of immediately uploading a photograph to social networks when one has a unique experience, is also perceived. “It is not a question of constantly looking for that image, that photo, but of having that experience, which is what is truly important,” says Daniel Lorenzo, director of the Fundación Catedral.
This entity calculates that of the two to three million people who visit the Compostela temple each year, only between 300,000 and half a million hugged the Apostle. So, at most 25% did it, a fairly low percentage that the cathedral chapter attributes in part to the fact that the hug slowed down with the taking of the photo, which was sometimes done by a relative from below, while the queue grew on the temple spindle.
Now a specific route has been established for the embrace, through the Azabachería door, on the opposite side of the Platerías door, which is the one used for the general visit. And the exit is also separate, through the rear area of the temple.
“I hope it gives me energy”, commented the day before yesterday in the queue a British pilgrim who had made the way from Ferrol by the English route. And there are those who attribute magical properties to sculpture. For others it constitutes the epilogue of the Camino, after arriving at Plaza del Obradoiro, or an inexcusable rite of his visit to the capital of Galicia.
For example, embracing the Apostle was one of the first things the last Pope to visit the city, Benedict XVI, did in Santiago. After three years of prohibition, it is possible again, although the cathedral recommends that visitors limit themselves to embracing the figure, without kissing it or hitting its face, for hygiene reasons.
This return to the previous situation occurs while the pilgrimage to Compostela is also installed in what is its normality for the last decades, with constant and intense growth. The latest data from the archbishopric is 146,525 compostelas delivered, which is the official certificate of having covered the itinerary. It represents a growth of 23% compared to 2022, which was a holy year, after the Church accepted the request of the Xunta to extend the year of 2021 due to the pandemic. Foreigners predominate, with the United States, Germany and Portugal as the main countries of origin.
In 2022 as a whole, a record of 438,000 pilgrims was reached, although in summer a strong boost was noted due to the massive Spanish pilgrimages typical of the holy year.
