Camino de Santiago_Way of St James August 1989
The central pillar is known as the Tree of Jesse, topped with a seated figure of a benign St James, carrying a pilgrim’s staff and a scroll which reads “The Lord Sent Me”. Pilgrims over the last 1000 years have placed the fingers of their right hand into five indentations worn in the marble of this pillar, and said a silent prayer of thanks, or five Hail Marys for their safe arrival.
Pilgrims make their way to Santiago de Compostela for the 4th World Youth Day presided over by Pope John Paul II during 19-21 August 1989.
The Camino de Santiago (Latin: Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; Galician: O Camiño de Santiago),[1] known in English as the Way of St. James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition holds that the remains of the saint are buried. Many follow its routes as a form of spiritual path or retreat for their spiritual growth.