The Way of Saint James Prince of Asturias Award for Concord 2004

According to tradition, the Way of Saint James began in the ninth century when the remains of Saint James the Apostle were discovered in Libredón Forest, where the city of Santiago de Compostela now stands, and where the saint's relics are kept in the Cathedral. From these beginnings the pilgrimage to Santiago became a driving force for extraordinary spiritual, social, cultural and economic vitality. In the course of its 1,200 years of history, it also became a symbol of fraternity amongst different peoples and the corner stone and focal point for an incipient, generalised awareness of Europe.