NEWS

"I am very much honoured and very happy to be in Panevėžys. I have been postponing my visits to your city due to COVID-19, but in the end, I am in Panevėžys. The best opportunity to be here is to present the exhibition on St. James Way. This route has a very strong continuation in Lithuania. Very important people, such as Mrs. Laima Andrikienė, in cooperation with the Mayor of Panevėžys and the Mayors of other cities have brought a huge contribution here. St. James Way is not just about walking. It is much more. It does not mean that we travel and get tired, and it is not just that we see new places or that we meet and interact with people from different cultures. From the very beginning, the path signifies brotherhood and transcendence between us. On behalf of St. James Way, I would like to invite you to Spain to visit this route and the tomb of Saint James the Great, “said H. E. Mr. José Maria Robles Fraga, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to Lithuania.

“First of all, I would like to thank Panevėžys City Municipality, its leaders, the Director of the Art Gallery, everyone who contributed to the presentation of this exhibition for the residents and guests of the city to enjoy it. When I first saw this exhibition in this gallery, everything seemed much better for me than in Vilnius, big photos with pilgrims immediately meet the visitors. In fact, it happened in my life that I would not have thought that I would ever have to look for the traces of the Saint James the Great. My pilgrimage also started from the search, we travelled around Lithuanian churches with like-minded people, made photos and communicated with people. All this resulted in the book of “The Light of Saint James Way”. Panevėžys is one of the the places of St. James Way. The city has always been full of culture in my memories. I could not imagine the route of Saint James Way in Lithuania without Panevėžys. I would like as many pilgrims as possible to come here, to come to you to get to know Panevėžys precisely through the Christian prism, through our communion. Thank you to everyone who came to the opening of this exhibition, "said Mr. Laima Andrikienė, Member of the Parliament of Lithuania, the founder and the member of the Association of Friends of the Saint James Way in Lithuania.

The pilgrimage routes of Saint James have become an example of cultural cooperation, exchange of ideas, fraternity and hospitality between the European nations.

Travelers of Saint James route through Lithuania also visits the Cathedral of Christ the King in Panevėžys. The sanctuary is officially included in this pilgrimage route and is marked with a special sign - a shell. The symbol of the Saint James Way marks not only the house of prayer itself, but also the house of the priests and the gate of the cathedral.

The exhibition will be available to the visitors at the Panevėžys City Art Gallery until December 17.