31 DECEMBER 2003
Spain's King Juan Carlos and his wife Queen Sofia spent the run-up to the New Year in the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, attending, for the first time, a religious ceremony dating back to the 12th century at the city's cathedral.

The solemn affair, commemorating the move of the mortal remains of Spain's patron saint, the apostle James, also inaugurated a special year for the Way of Saint James – a historic path followed annually by thousands of pilgrims – for 2004.

After an inspection of a military brigade, the king and queen attended a mass at the Santiago cathedral. And, at the end of the ceremony, the monarch and his wife approached the famed statue of Saint James to embrace it, in line with a tradition followed by millions of visitors who congregate at the sacred spot every year.