Over the last four days I’ve witnessed things I’ve never imaged. Early in the morning I crossed a Irache Monastery’s vineyard and outdoor wine fountain. Lines of pilgrims waited for a sample of the free wine at the outdoor spigot. Tasty!
There is a stretch of the first century Roman road. Oh, that any road we have today would last even ten years, nonetheless one built at the time of Christ.
Santo Domingo de Calzada holds a stronghold on Camino culture. Legend has it centuries ago parents with their young teen son were on the Camino and stopped in the town for refreshments. The innkeepers pretty daughter took a liking to the boy, but his pious focus toward the Camino discouraged her advance.
Hurt by this, the girl snuck a silver goblet in the boy’s travel sack. As the family rode away, the girl announced the thievery, the goblet was found, and the boy was arrested. A quick trial and the punishment was that he be hung.
The heartbroken parents continued to Santiago to complete their prayerful pilgrimage. Afterwards, they returned to the town, hoping to retrieve their son’s remains. To their surprise, their son was alive. He could tell his parents that Santo Domingo was kneeling below suspending the boy in the air to prevent his strangulation.
The parents ran to the sheriff’s home and explained the situation. The sheriff was having dinner. He responded, “Your son is as dead and these two chickens.”
At that, the two cooked chickens grew feathers and flew off.
The sheriff and officials investigated and confirmed the miracle. The son was released.
To this day, in the back of the Church of Santo Domingo there is a permanently installed chicken coop with chickens and roosters that can be seen and heard at all times.
The chicken is a symbol and legend still admired by Camino pilgrims today.
Seeing that church and the chicken coop brought the whole story to life for me. Whether it’s legend or truth, the story has a long history that inspires pilgrims and me to keep pushing forward to Santiago.
