The Pope marks the opening of the Holy Door in Santiago de Compostela

Pilgrims who embark on the long journey of the Camino to Santiago de Compostela remind others of the spiritual journey that all Christians make through life to heaven, Pope Francis said.

In a letter marking the opening of the Holy Door in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the pope stated that, just like the countless pilgrims who embark each year on the famous Way to the tomb of St. James the Great, Christians are " a pilgrim people "Who do not travel towards" a utopian ideal but rather a concrete goal ".

"The pilgrim is capable of putting himself in the hands of God, aware that the promised homeland is present in the one who wanted to camp among his people, to guide their journey", writes the pope in the letter sent to Archbishop Julian Barrio Barrio of Santiago de Compostela and published on 31 December.

The Holy Year is celebrated in Compostela in the years in which the feast of the apostle falls on a Sunday on 25 July. The most recent holy year was celebrated in 2010. For centuries, pilgrims have walked the famous Camino de Santiago de Compostela to venerate the remains of St. James.

In his message, the pope reflected on the theme of walking on pilgrimage. Just like so many pilgrims who have embarked on the Way, Christians are called to leave behind “those securities to which we bind ourselves, but having our objective clear; we are not vagabonds who go around in circles without going anywhere. "

"It is the voice of the Lord who calls us and, as pilgrims, we welcome him with an attitude of listening and research, undertaking this journey towards an encounter with God, with the other and with ourselves," he wrote.

Walking also symbolizes conversion as it is “an existential experience where the goal is as important as the journey itself,” he wrote.

Pope Francis said that pilgrims who walk the Way often travel with or find companions along the way to trust "without suspicion or doubt" and that they share their "struggles and conquests".

"It's a journey that started alone, bringing things that you thought would be useful, but it ends with an empty backpack and a heart full of experiences that contrasts and is in tune with the lives of other brothers and sisters who come from existential and cultural backgrounds" , wrote the pope.

That experience, he said, "is a lesson that should accompany us throughout our life"