Earning an Indulgence!

Simply by visiting the Monasterio de San Toribio de Lie'bana, we earned an Indulgence.(click the word for more info)  We are now one step closer to heaven, or one step further away from hell!  The Monastery was founded by Benedictine monks in the 6th century (yes, as in the year 500 and something) and is said to house the Lignum Crucis, the largest piece of the cross on which Christ was crucified.  It was brought to Spain from Jerusalem by the Bishop Toribio for safe-keeping back in the second half of the 8th century, when this region of Spain was battling the Moors.  It's kept in an ornate silver reliquary in a side chapel of the 13th-century church.  The colossal monastery is still occupied by monks and has buildings constructed during many centuries.

 This is where the piece of the cross is housed: