Holy cards, the traditional European, beautifully printed, paper ones are getting harder and harder to come by. I’ve had some since childhood and I’ve added to my collection with every trip to Spain but I only bought one in Madrid this time. It was a small plastic coated one dedicated to the Niño de Atocha, another representation of the Christ child but one the street and train station in Madrid are named after. When we got back to our hotel I looked the image up and found it is usually characterized by a basket, staff and drinking gourd in the child’s arms and his cape, affixed with a scallop shell, the symbol of the pilgrimage to Saint James.
I gave the card to my cousin, Maureen, when we met up with her today in Saint Jean Pied Del Port. The remains of St. James are said to be in Santiago de Compostello, the city in northwestern Spain that is named after the saint. Our hiking clothes are laid out and the alarm is set. We start our walk to Santiago tomorrow.
2 Comments
Enjoying your posts. Thanks for taking us along.
yes thanks P and P!