The 2004 Spanish commemorative program for the Camino de Santiago was timed to coincide with a Holy Compostelan Year — one of the relatively rare occasions when the feast of Saint James falls on a Sunday, drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. These jubilee years, declared by the Archbishop of Santiago, carry plenary indulgence status under papal authority, a tradition dating to the 12th century bull of Pope Alexander III.
The 2004 Spanish commemorative program for the Camino de Santiago was timed to coincide with a Holy Compostelan Year — one of the relatively rare occasions when the feast of Saint James falls on a Sunday, drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. These jubilee years, declared by the Archbishop of Santiago, carry plenary indulgence status under papal authority, a tradition dating to the 12th century bull of Pope Alexander III.