My last post was about the certificate being issued only for this year by the Franciscan monks in Santiago to celebrate the 800th anniversary of his Pilgrimage to Santiago in 1214 and that made me want to see if I could find out a little bit more.
The information that I found suggested that St Francis made his Pilgrimage on the Northern Way although the precise route that he took seems to be unclear (as far as I can work out he was on his way to Morocco in 1213 sometime after May but illness made him stop in Spain which does fit in).
According to legend the Convento de San Francisco de Valdedios was founded by Saint Francis when he reached Santiago at Val de Dios - 'Valley of God' (and the land for it bought from the monks of San Marino for a symbolic annual rent of a basket of trout a tradition that continued until the late 18th century). Cotolay, a coal man who greeted Saint Frances with his family when he entered Santiago, was charged with building the Convento. Cotolay could do this because of the finding of some treasure (possibly he found this near a source of coal after a message from God - the translation of the Spanish document I'm reading is a little unclear or it could have been found near the hermitage of San Paio do Monte).
Another version of the story tells that whilst praying on a mountain Saint Francis was notified by God that his order should build convents starting in Santiago after which Saint Francis suffered a fever and was rendered blind. Cotolay then promised to build the convent on his behalf and convinced the abbot of Saint Martin's Monastery to give them a piece of land the same size as the skin of a bull for a basket of fish which was agreed on but Cotolay cut the skin into narrow strips to mark out a large plot of land. Then he asked Master Mateo to give them a stack of stones and loggers, in a competition of might, took these to the land. After the Convent was built Saint Franis went to the building and his sight returned.
However the Gothic Church building no longer exists after it collapsed in the late 18th century with the exception of Cotolay's tomb (he died in 1238) and five arches in the cloister. The current Convento was built in the 17th century having been started in 1742 and its construction caused some problems with the monks in the Convent complaining that the building robbed them of light meaning that the height of the Church had to be lowered. (There is now a Cotolay restaurant in Santiago on the Rua de San Clemente.)
The Convento now has a display on the Holy Land, a library and part of it is a hotel (opened in 1971 - it is a hotel in the summer and a shelter for the homeless in the winter).
Outside the Church in the San Francisco Campillo there is a statue of Saint Francis by Francisco Asorey in 1926 (the 700th anniversary of Saint Francis' death).
I have also found that there is a special credential being issued in O Cebreiro Church to commemorate the 800th anniversary of Saint Francis' Pilgrimage (I can't find any information that it can be received elsewhere or that it can be sent out from the Church).
In July 2007 Santiago and Assisi became twined cities (Assisi is also twinned with San Francisco, Ripacandida and Bethlehem).
The information that I found suggested that St Francis made his Pilgrimage on the Northern Way although the precise route that he took seems to be unclear (as far as I can work out he was on his way to Morocco in 1213 sometime after May but illness made him stop in Spain which does fit in).
According to legend the Convento de San Francisco de Valdedios was founded by Saint Francis when he reached Santiago at Val de Dios - 'Valley of God' (and the land for it bought from the monks of San Marino for a symbolic annual rent of a basket of trout a tradition that continued until the late 18th century). Cotolay, a coal man who greeted Saint Frances with his family when he entered Santiago, was charged with building the Convento. Cotolay could do this because of the finding of some treasure (possibly he found this near a source of coal after a message from God - the translation of the Spanish document I'm reading is a little unclear or it could have been found near the hermitage of San Paio do Monte).
Another version of the story tells that whilst praying on a mountain Saint Francis was notified by God that his order should build convents starting in Santiago after which Saint Francis suffered a fever and was rendered blind. Cotolay then promised to build the convent on his behalf and convinced the abbot of Saint Martin's Monastery to give them a piece of land the same size as the skin of a bull for a basket of fish which was agreed on but Cotolay cut the skin into narrow strips to mark out a large plot of land. Then he asked Master Mateo to give them a stack of stones and loggers, in a competition of might, took these to the land. After the Convent was built Saint Franis went to the building and his sight returned.
However the Gothic Church building no longer exists after it collapsed in the late 18th century with the exception of Cotolay's tomb (he died in 1238) and five arches in the cloister. The current Convento was built in the 17th century having been started in 1742 and its construction caused some problems with the monks in the Convent complaining that the building robbed them of light meaning that the height of the Church had to be lowered. (There is now a Cotolay restaurant in Santiago on the Rua de San Clemente.)
The Convento now has a display on the Holy Land, a library and part of it is a hotel (opened in 1971 - it is a hotel in the summer and a shelter for the homeless in the winter).
Outside the Church in the San Francisco Campillo there is a statue of Saint Francis by Francisco Asorey in 1926 (the 700th anniversary of Saint Francis' death).
I have also found that there is a special credential being issued in O Cebreiro Church to commemorate the 800th anniversary of Saint Francis' Pilgrimage (I can't find any information that it can be received elsewhere or that it can be sent out from the Church).
In July 2007 Santiago and Assisi became twined cities (Assisi is also twinned with San Francisco, Ripacandida and Bethlehem).
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