Martin Sheen's new film will make the devout route in Spain even more popularIn the Middle Ages,Santiago de Compostela in north- western Spain was the No 1 centre of pilgrimage in Christendom. The first recorded pilgrims arrived in AD950 and by the 13th century more than half a million people a year trekked from across Europe to visit the grave of the apostle Saint James, whose remains had supposedly been discovered by a shepherd.
The past 20 years own seen a revival of interest in the pilgrimage, and particularly along the best-known path,the 500-mile Camino Francés, which crosses northern Spain from the Pyrenees across the flat central "meseta" and finally over the green hills of Galicia. In 1985 just 2500 pilgrims walked to Santiago. final year, and the Confraternity of Saint James reported that more than 150000 people received their "compostelas",the certificate of pilgrimage. And interest looks set to increase with the release this month of The Way, a film about an American doctor, and played by Martin Sheen,who completes the route in memory of his son, killed while walking the Camino.
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Source: theguardian.com