Personally, I think offering a certificate was the biggest mistake they ever made! They should have stuck to a scallop shell!
Why can't we walk for no reward besides that which we earn just by walking?
Sorry Johnny, but all that work in the pilgrims' office, all those queues, all those arguments over who started where and how far and how many stamps they've got... just for a free certificate. Is it really worth it?
The credencial with the different sellos should be enough to remind us of the walks we have done.
In 2001 I walked the Coast to Coast in England and we could buy a certificate if we wanted one.
???
The Pilgrim's certificate is more than just a "souvenir", and it is of (slightly) more ancient origin than the custom of using scallop shells.
(johnny mentions it being about 300 years old -- which is true,
in its current standardised form. Prior to that, since the Middle Ages, each pilgrim would or would not receive a fully personalised certificate of Pilgrimage, Confession, and Mass attendance with Holy Communion from the Cathedral Church and whichever Confessor ; this evolved into the
compostela after Trent, when many Church customs were simplified and &c.)
It is a Church document, attesting to the relevant Ecclesial Authorities that a person has accomplished their pilgrimage. Most of the original purposes of the document may have fallen by the wayside, but it remains a prerequisite for admission into certain Catholic organisations of pilgrims that are officially recognised by the Church. And in certain cases, the
compostela could be provided as evidence that a person excommunicated or otherwise disqualified from receiving Holy Communion should have this penalty removed, given the indulgences that are attached to the pilgrimage.
Having said all that, I'd tend to agree that 100 KM is generally too short, given the modern hiking conditions (prior to my knee problems, I could likely have done Sarria-Compostela in 2 days) --- except,
quid of those leaving from home and living closer to Santiago than O Cebreiro ? Not to forget Camino Inglès and etc.
Clearly, sports and economics considerations alone should not determine the conditions for receiving a Church document.
Another
caveat, of course, is that this would represent adding an extra 50 KM worth of extreme crowdedness to the Camino, and that it would turn O Cebreiro into even more of a tourigrino trap than it is already.
Still, increasing the requirement up from 100 to 150 KM is not that bad a suggestion ; and I'd assume up from 200 KM to 300 for cyclists ? So starting in Leon rather than Ponferrada ?