El Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James)

Monument of the Pilgrims at the Cathedral in Burgos, Spain.

El Camino de Santiago (Galician: O Camiño de Santiago; English: The Way of St. James, or St. James's Way) is a Christian pilgrimage leading to the shrine of the apostle St. James the Greater at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, northwestern Spain. The exact route of the Way varies, as there are many paths and starting points through out Europe, but the most popular route is the Camino Francés (Galician: Camiño Francés; English: French Way), a month-long journey beginning from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, southwestern France to Roncesvalles, Spain, and through the cities of Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, and Léon.

Holy Years

Whenever St. James's Day (25 July) falls on a Sunday, the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela declares a Holy (Jubilee) Year. Depending on leap years, Holy Years may occur in 5, 6, and 11 year intervals: the most recent have been 1982, 1993, 1999, 2004, 2010, and 2021; and the next four will occur in 2027, 2032, 2038, and 2049.