Speech by the President of the Government at the handover ceremony of the Codex Calixtinus to the Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela, Galicia

Your Excellency, Archbishop of Santiago, Honourable President of the Regional Government of Galicia, Honourable Madam Speaker of Parliament, honourable friends, ladies and gentlemen,

I only want to say a few words here. I would like to begin with the announcement that as President of the Government I am very happy to be able to participate in an occasion such as this. I am here as President of the Government, I am here because I am from Santiago, and I am also here as member of the first parliament in history of the region of Galicia, which used to meet here, precisely in this Synod Hall, where for many months I passed the first laws that ended up forming the institutional framework of the Regional Government of Galicia. Many of them are still in force today.

I am very happy, I insist, I have rarely been quite so happy, and in this speech I only want to say two or three things.

The first is to congratulate the National Police Force, and in particular the Artistic Heritage Brigade, which is part of the Specialised and Violent Crime Unit of the General Judicial Police Force, for the positive result of the operation.

I would like to point out that the outcome is the result of professionalism and perseverance in the fight against a particularly damaging form of crime. We live at a time when there is no good news, or at least at a time when good news is far from common; in fact everything is questioned, including the professionalism of the public servants. Well, I believe that today is a good time to vindicate the professionalism, work, dedication, effort and competence of public servants who have once more been equal to the occasion. That is why I want to give them my personal thanks.

I actually want to congratulate everyone. The Codex has an owner, but to a certain extent we all consider it as our own, and I want to congratulate the Church, I want to congratulate the Archbishopric, I want to congratulate the Archbishop, the Regional Government, all the people of Galicia and all the people of Spain. And finally, this Codex Calixtinus, as the President of the Regional Government and the Archbishop both reminded us in their speeches, is a kind of guide for all the pilgrims who follow the Camino de Santiago making their way here to Santiago de Compostela, with advice, descriptions of the routes and works of art, and even of the customs of the people who live along the Way. It also contains, as you know, sermons, miracles performed by Saint James, liturgical texts related to Saint James the Apostle and miniatures that reveal am artistic style of Romanesque art that was new in the West.

This is something that belongs to all of us and I believe that we can all feel happy, proud and satisfied that it is once more back with us.

I would not like to end without putting myself at the disposal of the Archbishopric in two ways: first, we have to make an effort to prevent such things from happening again. We usually learn from events, and above all from those that are not pleasant. Within a short period of time, we are going to sign an agreement between the Government Delegation here in Galicia, the Regional Government of Galicia and the Archbishopric to establish specific measures to protect the historical and artistic heritage, and to prevent the recurrence of events such as the one that brings us all here today. And you can be in no doubt that the Government of Spain, the Minister for Home Affairs, the Director General for the Police, who is with us here today, and all the members of the National Police Force, are all on hand to ensure that these things are not repeated.

I would also like the Government of Spain to offer to the Cathedral and to the Archbishopric the services of the Institute for the Historical Spanish Heritage. This institute, which answers to the Secretariat of State for Culture, is as you know specialised and skilled in the restoration of all kinds of artistic items. We want it to undertake a revision or assessment of the state of the Codex after the year it has been stored in very deficient conditions, as you are all aware.

And to end, I will end as I began: today, at a time when we do not have any good news, I believe that we have had the opportunity to attend one of the events that it is really worthwhile attending.

I would like to thank once more the officers of the National Police Force, and I would like to congratulate all those - I imagine the vast majority of citizens - who today are a little happier because this matter has been resolved in a satisfactory fashion.

Thank you very much.