The Via Portus Cale Association is an international association of Christian inspiration, having the goal of caring for those that walk on the Ways of St. James.

 

The Via Portus Cale Association was founded by people, who recognize the necessity of their own personal Christian pilgrimage, intended to share their experiences, caring for all whom are or wish to become pilgrims themselves.

 

The name “Via Portus Cale” comes from Latin and embodies the significance of the association.

 

Via – Road, Way

 

Cale – “Cale” was the first name of a Roman settlement located at the Douro River mouth, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean in what today is Northern Portugal.

 

Portus Cale – In approximately 200 AD, the Romans began overtaking the Iberian Peninsula from the Carthaginians, and in the process “Cale” was conquered and renamed “Portus Cale”.

 

In 868 AD, Vimara Peres, the Christian warrior from Gallaecia and vassal of King Alfonso III, of Asturias, Leon, and Galicia, was sent to reconquer and secure the area between Minho and Douro rivers from the Moors. This included the city, Portus Cale, thus the founding of the first County of Portugal, named County of Portucale.  Portus Cale therefore is the former name of the modern day city of Porto, which would eventually be used to refer to the entire region, and later, the entire country. It also dons the Via Portus Cale Association’s headquarters, located in the city of Porto.

 

The Via Portus Cale International Association intends, with the help of many, to offer friends, associates, volunteers, etc. through a variety of initiatives to intentionally serve our fellow human beings.  This will be done according to one of the most basic principles of Christianity, “loving our neighbors” – all those that search for meaning in life along the Ways of St. James.