Pilgrim Mass

Pilgrim Mass

    Every Sunday the huge Cathedral of Santiago holds a Pilgrims Mass for those who have completed their walk along the Camino during the week. It’s a kind of celebration, not only a celebration of the sacrifice that Jesus made for the salvation of all mankind but also for the pilgrims who had arrived safely at what was for many of their final destination on trail: the holy Cathedral de Compostela of Santiago. Pilgrims would travel hundreds of miles from the safety of their homes seeking God’s forgiveness or healing through one of the several of the overland routes that carries them to Santiago. It is a tradition that had lasted for almost a thousand years and there are a great many others that we could talk about, but I’d like to talk about the Mass itself in the ways that it differed from the Masses that I, as a practicing Catholic, have been to in the past. One thing that should be noted is that the Cathedral was partly closed for renovation and as part of that we ended up having the Pilgrim Mass in another church called Sant Francisco.  

The first thing that struck me was how different the music was. The music was very joyful and long, with songs stretching out for longer that they would have in the States. They also encouraged rhythmic clapping from the congregation during the hymns which is not something that we normally do in the States, but perhaps is a cultural difference. The other Mass that went to on the trip was a very typical Mass in its style and form, but that was also a weekday Mass and that tends to be shorter and little to no hymns. It could also be that since the Mass is for pilgrims from other countries, it would stand to reason that they would make the Mass as engaging for those who had not been in a long while or perhaps never before. The music was very good and uplifting after all those days of hard work and ever-growing walking time and it did not bother me that the music was not the traditional tunes to hymns that Catholic services are known for.

Another thing that was different, but interesting was that the priest who gave the homily had a bunch of children stand up to help him. They held like word signs and answered a number of Father’s questions as they did so. This would be considered a bit of a tricky thing to pull off in the States because of time logistics for all the children being there together with the priest to learn the timing, but they all did a marvelous job. The homily, like the rest of the Mass, was in Spanish and as such was a little bit challenging for me to follow.

The Catholic Mass is virtually the same no matter where one is attending it and even if it is being said in a language that is unfamiliar to some in the congregation, such as myself on this particular trip, we will always have some idea was to what is happening due to the carefully maintained rituals of celebrating the Mass. It was beautiful just like every other Mass I have attended over the course of my life and I think that these few differences were either minor cultural additions or was one of the many ways that communities around the world reach out to others in attempting to share with them the beauty of our traditions in the Mass.