The Camino breaks the record of pilgrims of Xacobeo 2010

Año de récord absoluto en el Camino de Santiago

2016 is already the year with more pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago

It is official, this weekend has surpassed the number of 272,412 compostelas delivered in the Cathedral of Santiago, establishing a historic record on the Camino de Santiago since these awards are distributed and counted the number of pilgrims. The previous figure, reached in the Holy Year of 2010 seemed unattainable, but the celebration of the Year of Mercy and the international rise of the Jacobean Route have made it possible to overcome it, when there are still 47 days until the end of 2016.

The new record was struck on the eve of the closing of the Holy Door of the Cathedral of Santiago this Sunday at 17.00 by the archbishop of the city, Julian Barrio, concluding the Year of Mercy convened by Pope Francisco. The door will not be open until the next Xacobeo, in 2021, a key year in the agendas of all the administrations related to the Camino de Santiago, which are already working to improve infrastructure and prepare the Jacobean Route for the flood of pilgrims wait.

At the moment of greater popularity of the Camino de Santiago in its recent history, we find a profile of pilgrim that crosses its path mainly on foot, between 30 and 60 years, male and that chooses the French Way, leaving from Sarria, the Locality that marks the minimum distance from where the compostela can be obtained. In addition to pilgrims from our geography, where the people of Madrid and Andalusia abound, the Camino is especially popular among Italians, Germans and Portuguese (the Portuguese Way is the second most important route) and also manages to mobilize a large number of Americans, Brazilians, Australians And even South Koreans.

The future is very promising for the Camino de Santiago, thanks to the popularization of other routes within the Iberian Peninsula, such as the Northern or Primitive Way, recognized as a World Heritage Site in 2015 and which are expected to experience a boom of pilgrims in the coming years. All eyes are now on Xacobeo 2021, for which the executive of the Xunta expects to exceed the number of 400,000 pilgrims.