Santiago day celebrations bring program of initiatives to Porto

To mark the Santiago Day, which is celebrated on July 25th , Porto city Hall will promote a set of initiatives that highlight the historical and cultural importance of the Camino de Santiago that crosses the city.

The program runs from the 15th until the 25th of July and has the collaboration of other institutions, such as Sé Catedral and Centro de Estudos Jacobeus.

Catarina Santos Cunha, councillor of Porto City Hall responsible for Tourism and Internationalization, underlines the “importance of valuing and promoting the routes that cross the city towards Santiago de Compostela, and of knowing how to welcome pilgrims who pass through Porto”.

“The autarchy has been committed to valuing these itineraries, namely, the involvement in the certification of the Portuguese Coast Route, recently obtained, the result of a cooperation work with the other municipalities that make up this Route and with Entidade Regional de Turismo do Porto e Norte de Portugal”, she said to Porto..

The programmed actions include a special welcome for the pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela, who are passing through the city until the 25th July.

In the Cathedral of Porto, the blessing of pilgrims will take place, either on the 15th or on the 25th of July, at 11 am, as part of the mass held at that time.

Pilgrims interested in discovering more about the “The Routes of Santiago and the importance of the city of Porto in the Jacobean itineraries “will be able to participate in sessions guided by Manuel Araújo, an expert on the Routes of Santiago. These meetings, lasting approximately 30 minutes, will take place in the Capela Nossa Senhora das Verdades, on the 15th, 22nd and 25th of July, starting at 5 pm.

Between the 15th and 25th of July, each pilgrim who visits the Tourist Office in Sé or Capela Nossa Senhora das Verdades will be offered a one day pedestrian Porto.CARD, inviting them to visit other points of interest in the city.

During this same period, the Centro de Estudos Jacobeu will welcome pilgrims every morning, except on Sundays, at the Tourist Office in Sé, where a video will be shown highlighting various points of heritage, religious and touristic, points of interest, with elements alluding Santiago.

In addition to the aforementioned initiatives, the race Iacobus Maris is scheduled to arrive in Porto, next Saturday, July 16, whose sailboats are recreating the voyage of the apostle Santiago´s body from Israel to Galicia.

These activities are part of a broader program that extents to the other municipalities that are part of the Portuguese Coast, and which will be released shortly by Turismo do Porto e Norte de Portugal.

It is recalled that the Jacobean Year is celebrated when the festivity of the apostle Santiago, on the 25th of July, takes place on a Sunday, but the celebrations were extended until 2022, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.