President Drnovšek continues his visit to Galicia
Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 03/11/2006 | press release
Within the programme of his working visit to the Spanish Autonomous Region of Galicia, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Janez Drnovšek, visited today the tomb of St. James and attended the mass at the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, one of the world's three major pilgrimage sites attracting Christians from all over the world, including Slovenia.
In his address during the solemn liturgical service, the dean of St. James's cathedral, José María Díaz, emphasized that the presence of Slovenia's president in Santiago confirms and strengthens the Slovene people's centuries-old links with St. James the Apostle. The earliest records of Slovene pilgrimage to Santiago date as far back as the 12th century, and Ulrich II, the Duke of Celje, and his sixty knights made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella more than five hundred years ago, at the beginning of the 15th century. A great many churches dedicated to St. James throughout Slovenia and the mention of St. James in folk stories, literature and poetry point to a close historical relation between St. James, Galicia and Spain and the Slovene people, stressed the dean José María Díaz in his address.