The pilgrimage will be officially inaugurated at Santo Domingo de Silos with vespers recited by the monks, followed by a short journey on foot. Then the pilgrims will leave for Burgos, where a mass will be celebrated in the St. Thecla Chapel of the cathedral on Sunday morning, 18 April, with the participation of the pontifical delegate. Then two hours’ walk from Castrojeriz to Itero del Castello, vespers in the ancient church of St. Isidore in Leòn, then on the following morning, 19 April, mass in the cathedral known as “Pulchra Leonina”. A further two and a half hours’ on the road between El Acebo and Molinaseca, vespers in the basilica of Santa Maria de la Encina at Ponferrada, followed by a meeting with Alojz Poterle, former prime minister of Slovenia and member of the Presidium of the European Convention. Departure for Villafranca del Bierzo on Tuesday 20 April, where a Eucharist officiated by Bishop Amédée Grab of Chur, president of the CCEE (Council of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe), will be celebrated. Another two hours’ walk to Cebreiro, and then the final stretch of road leading to Santiago de Compostela. The pilgrims will be welcomed by Monsignor Julian Barrio Barrio, archbishop of the city. Mass in the famous cathedral, where the tomb of the apostle James is situated, will be celebrated on the conclusion of the pilgrimage on 21 April; it will be presided over by Monsignor Josef Homeyer, president of COMECE. The congress will begin on the evening of the same day. The main speakers will include, among others, Msgr. Hippolyte Simon, vice-president of COMECE, Janne Haaland-Matlary of the university of Oslo (who will speak of “Faith and politics in Europe”), Valery Giscard d’Estaing, president of the European Convention, Cardinal Antonio M.Rouco Varela, archbishop of Madrid, and Father Notker Wolf, abbot primate of the Benedictines.
