THE ENGLISH WAY PROMOTES THE ROUTE IN CANADA

The honorary president of the Association of Municipalities of the English Way, Manuel Mirás Franqueira, with the technical assistance of the Deputation of A Coruña, is promoting this Jacobean route in Canada through several events, following an invitation received at the end of 2023 from the Canadian Company of Pilgrims, an entity that brings together pilgrims from that country and has over 8,000 members. "The journey is proving to be a success in terms of attendance and the interest shown by the participants, with a high level of knowledge about the English Way," explains Mirás Franqueira.

Presentations were held in the towns of Victoria, where over 200 people attended; Calgary, with an outside temperature of -21ºC, yet still attracting a large crowd; London, closer to the east coast, and Toronto, where the Consul General of the Spanish embassy in Canada, Francisco de Asís Benítez, also attended.

"Many of the attendees were already aware of the route's existence, but both they and those who were not took good note of the option, as it allows them to obtain the compostela after walking 25 km in their own country, on sections that have already been recognised by the Pilgrim's Office coinciding with this tour, and to continue towards Santiago de Compostela from A Coruña, thus completing the necessary 100 km," adds the honorary president of the association.

The presentation, made with infographics, photos, and videos, but above all with the map/brochure designed and edited by the Association, was extremely well received among the hundreds of potential pilgrims who approached the various centres. Attendees asked several questions related to the historic route, and some even changed their plans to undertake the English Way this year.

The city of Toronto was the final point of this Canadian "mini-tour", but the starting point for the Irish one, as the new brochure will be presented in Dublin next Friday, including the so-called Celtic Way, running through Irish lands as the start of the route in that country. The Spanish ambassador to Ireland, Ion de la Riva Guzmán de Frutos, confirmed his attendance at the presentation.