Celebrate Santiago Apostol 2023
On July 25, the day of Santiago the Apostle is celebrated, who was a disciple of Jesus Christ and one of the highest representatives of Christianity. In addition, Santiago Apóstol is the patron saint of Spain.
On Galicia Day, July 25, it is the most important day of Santiago de Compostela, because the festival of Santiago Apóstol, patron saint of Spain, is celebrated.
Santiago Apóstol is represented as a soldier on a white horse, always prepared for the fight, although he is also usually represented as a pilgrim.
Origin of the celebration Santiago Apóstol
Santiago de Zebedeo had the mission of evangelizing the Roman Empire, according to tradition.
Santiago de Zebedeo is also known as Santiago the Greater in the Christian tradition, to differentiate him from another member of the group of twelve, Santiago the Less. According to New Testament texts, he was one of the most outstanding apostles of Jesus of Nazareth, since he witnessed the Transfiguration and the Prayer in the Garden of Olives, before the beginning of the Passion of Our Lord, as well as the appearance of Christ after His Resurrection. .
Santiago Apóstol was sent to preach to Hispania, present-day Spain and Portugal, after Pentecost, from Jerusalem through the Pillars of Hercules, skirting the coast of Portugal and reaching Galicia.
During his trip to Spain, the Virgin Mary appeared to Santiago the Apostle, since it was difficult for him to announce Christ among the inhabitants of Hispania. It was the first Marian apparition in history, and from it arose the devotion to the Virgen del Pilar in Zaragoza.
Santiago Apostle returned to Jerusalem in the year 44, where he was beheaded by order of King Herod. His disciples transferred his body to Hispania, where the Compostela Cathedral is located today.
In the year 813 they discovered the tomb of Santiago Apóstol, and numerous Christians from the north of the peninsula began to make pilgrimages to show their devotion, becoming a tradition and the Camino de Santiago, spreading throughout Europe as one of the most important centers of pilgrimage of Christianity.
Why is it celebrated on July 25?
In the year 1222, Pope Calixto II introduced the Compostela Holy Year, which is celebrated on July 25, which falls on a Sunday.
Since the Reconquest, Santiago Apóstol has been recognized as its patron, but he was declared Patron of Spain by Urban VIII in the 17th century.
<<God made Santiago, Patron of Spain, who did not exist then, so that when the day comes he could intercede for her and bring her back to life with his doctrine and with his sword>> Francisco de Quevedo
On July 25, Santiago de Zebedeo, also known as Santiago el Mayor, is commemorated. The years that coincide on a Sunday, as in 2021, is a special circumstance, since it only occurs 14 years per century, and it is called the Holy Year or Xacobeo.
For the celebration, the city of Santiago de Compostela decks out its streets on its big day and the traditional Offering to the Apostle is carried out in the cathedral.
Given the importance of the figure of Santiago the Apostle, Pope Calixto II created the Compostela Holy Year in 1132.
Santiago and close Spain!
In the military tradition of Spain, the war cry <<Santiago y Cierra España>> was used by soldiers from the Reconquest to the present, before each offensive charge.
The meaning of the phrase is, on the one hand, to invoke Santiago the Apostle, since legend has it that during the Battle of Clavijo he appeared to fight alongside the Christians. And on the other hand, the order "close" in military terms means to engage, ram or attack.
For the unity of our Homeland and against separatism and the corrupt partitocracy that wants to destroy it, we ask for the intercession of the Holy Apostle.