October 28, 2010. Pope Benedict XVI will travel as a pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela, Spain on November 6. It is a journey he has been planning with his brother Georg, since before he was Pope. The two have been waiting until now to complete the journey in the Compostela Holy Year.
They will spend eight short, yet meaningful hours in Santiago. They will be received at the airport by the Prince and Princess of Asturias and local authorities.
He will travel the 14 kilometers from the airport to the cathedral in the famous Pope-mobile. Waiting for him will be more than 1,000 volunteers working the crowd which is expected to be in the thousands.
Emilio Gabriel Fernandez
Volunteer
"We will be in the international press center. We will give logistical support to approximately 1,600 journalists. From any computer problem or data collection ... We will be supporting as volunteers to the office of the regional government."
Luis Manuel Teira Otero
Volunteer
"We are already beginning to organize volunteers for the visit, in terms of logistics, to prepare for the flood of journalists and public that we will have in a small city like Santiago."
The cathedral square, also called Square of Obradoiro, has capacity for 25,000 people. More than 6,000 chairs will be set up, but for those unable to fit in the square, seven giant screens were installed in different parts of the city. Television de Galicia will direct broadcast the public events of Benedict XVI to television networks worldwide.
Jesus Fontenla
Journalist TVG (Galicia, Spain)
"There are five mobile units and 15 straight shots. In total more than 70 cameras that will
broadcast to the world, live, the arrival of Benedict XVI at the airport and his trip to the cathedral and church in the afternoon. I think the coverage is good.”
Inside the cathedral, Benedict XVI will visit the tomb of St. James and, like all pilgrims, embrace the statue. There he will find some 1,200 people including children, the sick and the religious.
Msgr. Julián Barrio Barrio
Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela (Spain)
"The Pope is coming as a pilgrim, he will perform all the rites of pilgrimage. Entering through the Holy Door to embrace the Apostle to the crypt to pray at the tomb of St. James. He will also admire the botafumeiro. The ceremony will finish with the Lord's Prayer and the prayer of the Mass of St. James. He will complete all the rites, so to speak, performed by the pilgrims.”
In the Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela, the Pope will have lunch with the Spanish cardinals and bishops of the Spanish Episcopal Conference.
Msgr. Julián Barrio Barrio
Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela (Spain)
"If we want to offer all our hospitality and availability to the pilgrims, then in a special way we want to do it for the most egregious pilgrim, Pope Benedict XVI.”
At four-thirty in the afternoon, a highly anticipated moment will arrive. The Pope will be accompanied by about 600 priests in Mass to commemorate this Jubilee Year at Santiago de Compostela.
The biggest enemy for this event is the weather. Faced with the possibility of low temperatures, an electric pad has been installed on the platform, which along with TV spotlights, should smooth out the temperature.
At eight o'clock in the evening, the Pope will leave Santiago to fly to Barcelona, the second and final part of his trip to Spain.
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