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“A spiritual journey that recalls the sense of European unification” through which the nations of the continent “are united in the EU and, at the same time, open themselves to the world”. That’s how the bishops of COMECE (Commission of the episcopates of the European Union) and Archbishop Juliàn Barrio Barrio of Santiago de Compostella describe “Santiago 2004”, the pilgrimage to be held in April next year to celebrate the unification of the continent with the entry of ten new states into the EU on 1st May. The pilgrimage was appropriately presented on 9 May, Day of Europe. “The imminent membership of the countries of central and southern Europe write the bishops in a statement fills us with joy, and we await it with confidence. At the same time, we think of those who regard this new phase of European history with apprehension in the face of the unknown that it represents”. The bishops also express their conviction that “the time has come to deepen further the spiritual dimension of Europe, because ‘if Yahwe does not build the house, its builders will labour in vain'”. Hence the importance of the pilgrimage to the tomb of the apostle James at Compostella in the year of European reunification, which is also a holy year for the Sanctuary. The pilgrimage will begin at the Benedictine monastery of Santo Domingo di Silos on 17 April 2004 and involve more than 300 participants, representatives of the Episcopal Conferences of the present and future Union, as well as politicians, journalists, artists, writers, ordinary people. It will conclude at Santiago de Compostella on 21 April. It’s “a pilgrimage say the bishops that, with its network of roads spread throughout Europe, is the perfect symbol of the unity of the continent” and, with Santiago’s “vicinity to the shores of the ocean it confronts us with a future still unknown”. Expressing the hope that “some representatives of other Christian confessions may accompany us on the way to Santiago”, the bishops point out that “as the political unification of Europe approaches, the ecumenical challenges are becoming ever more urgent”. They also underlined the need for “an ever closer communion between the spiritual and religious forces of the continent”. Supported by the president of the European Parliament Pat Cox, by the president of the European Commission Romano Prodi, and by Bertie Ahern, Irish prime minister, who will head the European Presidency in the first semester of 2004, the pilgrimage will be followed by a theological congress on the theme of European construction and Christian faith (21-24 April), and by a plenary assembly of COMECE, during which the associate Episcopal Conferences will become full members.
