• Magical Galicia: The miraculous relic of the Templars that ended in a town in Coruña

Today I will start telling you something you already know. Rare is the villa, town or even tiny village of Spain that does not have in its vicinity a church or hermitage with a figure of local devotion. Centuries of Catholic tradition in Spain have dotted our entire geography with an army of saints and virgins in sufficient numbers to take the skies to the assault, if we put ourselves to it. And that is not to mention the amount of relics - real or false - distributed generously in those same temples, that the religious necrophilia comes from old. Only in the Iberian Peninsula there are enough pieces of Vera Cruz enough to build a wooden cabin and femurs of saint, incorrupt bodies of saints and even more pilgrim things (there is even something called the Holy Prepuce, which has to be worthy of admiration) as to fill a museum of curiosities. But what is not so common is that in a town they celebrate a pilgrimage in honor of a saint of whom they know absolutely nothing . And because they do not know, they are not even sure if he is a saint or a saint. And above, they keep it on top of a mountain, locked in a cage. Just in case. So today we are going to Pazos de Borbén, in Pontevedra .

At the end of August, a pilgrimage is held at the top of Monte da Berra , near the town of Pazos de Borbén. The Borbén River forms a great valley that hides between A Serra do Galleiro and the mountains of Festín and when you reach the top of Monte da Berra one finds a landscape of breathtaking beauty. Right at the top of the mountain, and near a precipice a cross is raised with nothing in particular, except a steel cage embedded halfway up its shaft. And inside this cage, there is an old stone carving, with the features already erased by time. It is difficult to specify whether it is a man or a woman and on his shoulders he has something that could be part of a suit or even the wings of an angel, if viewed from the right angle.

The story of the mysterious saint can be summed up very quickly: A long time ago, in an excavation, the mysterious figure appeared. This is a constant in the appearance of miraculous figures since the Middle Ages , especially those of Marian invocation, which used to be figures of the Virgin that some shepherd boy found next to a fountain or in a sacred place. But in this case, the figure is so androgynous and with few features that it was difficult to find an identity. It is, if you allow me the little irreverence, a "paperless" within the saints.

Instead of sending it to a museum, the residents of the area decided that it would be a great idea to celebrate a pilgrimage that mixes the religious with the pagan - after all, it is not a saint recognized by the church - and therefore, For a long time, they gather hundreds of people high up on the mountain to honor the "Holy Aparecido." Thus, without further complications, why bother looking for a name, creating a legend about its miraculous appearance or giving it a background? The only sure thing is that they had an image ... and the rest would go on the fly.

The problem is that, not being a recognized saint, there was not a single church that agreed to place it inside one of its temples, so the only alternative was to leave it on top of the mountain where it had appeared. That in turn was another challenge, because the top of Monte da Berra is an idyllic place in summer, but it is also an inhospitable place and little visited in the harsh winter months. The temptation to steal the figure could be irresistible to a friend of others or, worse, it could become the goal of some group of vandals. So, already in flour, the neighbors decided that caging the saint, for his own safety, would be the best option. Now, total, what else did it matter.

And in these we are. If you pass by Pazos de Borbén the last week of August, do not miss the opportunity to enjoy the hospitality of its people and climb to the top of Monte da Berra to contemplate the holy prisoner of whom nothing else is known. Perhaps you draw your own conclusions. Or not. But what is certain is that they did not descend from that mountain without having eaten great and enjoyed a good time of music and fun. Because the Holy Aparecido may not work miracles, but what he does guarantee is a party full of good atmosphere . That, if you think about it, it's not a small thing either.

And next day we will not go too far, since we will only have to travel a few kilometers north to discover some columns built with dozens of stones in a strange way with which time can be controlled. Or at least that is what the locals say. But that will be in the next stage of our path.

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