Fatima. Success extends exhibition on the Way of Saint James

The exhibition “Don’t pass by the Way… let the Way pass by you”, on display at the Fátima tourist office, in the municipality of Ourém, has been extended “due to the success it has achieved, reflected in a significant number of positive comments” from tourists and pilgrims on the Ways of St. James and Fátima.

Visitors now have until November 30 to see photographs of the various routes to Santiago and the heritage they cross, as well as objects related to the Jacobean pilgrimage, images, symbols and statuettes of Santiago. The exhibition also includes illustrated pilgrim stories, souvenirs, handicrafts and the traditional Galician queimada pot.

The exhibition is the result of a partnership between the Espaço Jacobeus Association (AEJ), Turismo Centro de Portugal and the Ourém Municipality, and is made up of items that are part of the association’s collection or have been donated by pilgrims for this initiative.

So far, it has been seen by tourists and pilgrims from countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Chile, USA, France, Belgium, Lebanon, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Canada, Spain, Italy, South Korea and Switzerland; as well as, of course, many Portuguese.

According to the AEJ delegate in Fátima, Carina Frazão, the exhibition was designed to encourage visitors to follow “the famous yellow arrows, as if they were pilgrims”, and also to display objects traditionally used by them, such as the staff, the gourd, the backpack and the credential.

For the president of the AEJ, António Devesa, “this exhibition is an invitation to those who visit the tourist office to start preparing for the Camino de Santiago”. “Those who start reading the testimonies, seeing the photographs and observing the heritage on display will be able to better understand what the Way represents and assess whether it suits their desires,” he points out.

The director of Turismo Centro de Portugal’s Tourist Information Center (NIT), Carlos Figueiredo, considers “the exhibition to be fantastic, which needs to be publicized and serve as a way of bringing people together and sharing knowledge”.

For her part, Isabel Costa, vice-president of the Municipality of Ourém, highlights the importance of the exhibition in promoting the Way of Saint James, since “often the idea that people already know what it is doesn’t correspond to reality”.

“Don’t pass by the Way… let the Way pass by you” can be visited from Monday to Friday, from 9:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00; on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, from 9:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00.

The Espaço Jacobeus – Confraria de São Tiago Association, founded in 2004, has 800 members. It is a Catholic organization based in Braga, which “preserves, in its essence, the ecumenical spirit of welcoming people of all races and creeds, bringing together in its activities individuals of different faiths and humanistic convictions”.

In 2006, it was officially recognized by the Archdiocese of Braga and added to the Universal Archconfraternity of the Apostle Santiago, based in Santiago de Compostela.