The author felt surrounded and uplifted because

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Even as a tourist, joining those who had arrived from around the world at the pilgrim's mass in the cathedral was a moving experience for me. Representatives from different language groups offered prayers. I had seen some cathedrals empty of worshipers in Europe, but dozens of rows in the Santiago Cathedral were filled. Some present wore the traditional hat of the Santiago pilgrimage. Some carried the pilgrim's cane. There were travellers with backpacks who must have just stepped off the road and into the church. As it happened, the day I visited was a feast day and mass ended with the use of the massive incense burner that requires eight men to swing it above the heads of the worshipers. My visit to Santiago de Compostela had an immediate effect on my spiritual life. I spent a weekend alone in that city and I returned to the cathedral again and again to pray. Even when I arrived early in the morning and had corners of the cathedral to myself, I felt surrounded and uplifted by the prayers of the pilgrims past and present. I found myself praying for more than I had ever prayed for before, without shyness and without hesitation.