are you allowed to make your own credencial?

[Kiwi-family]

or do you have to use official ones?

 

[JohnnieWalker]

In my experience albergues accept any credencial whether home made or not - it is the sellos they are looking for to demonstrate you have walked to get there.

The "official policy" of the Pilgrims' Office is that to obtain the compostela sellos should be collected on an "official credencial" :

"The Credencial (pilgrim’s passport) is the successor to the “documents of safe conduct” given to medieval pilgrims. Nowadays there is only one official Credencial issued and recognised by the Pilgrims’ Office. It is available by applying in person from the Pilgrims’ Office or from other organisations authorised to distribute the official Credencial, such as Churches, Amigos groups, albergues etc. In some countries other than Spain voluntary organisations such as Confraternities who support the pilgrimage to Santiago have been permitted to supply their own Credenciales." http://peregrinossantiago.es/eng/pilgri ... redencial/

However to be honest this cannot be rigidly enforced as many local authorities and tourist offices issue their own credenciales in an effort to be helpful pilgrims. It would then be very unfair if the pilgrims were denied their compostela.

Some pilgrims do make their own and sometimes have both an "offical credencial" and their own credencial and they collect stamps on both. One family plumped the Family Bible on the desk on which they had the sellos to record their journey.

So, I suppose what I am saying is that despite the official policy I've never seen a pilgrim with the requisite sellos being turned away whether or not they used the Cathedral Credencial. I suspect this flexible approach would only be reviewed if the practice of making your own became very widespread as the income from sales of credenciales is important to the Cathedral.

I hope this helps.

John

 

[newfydog]

We made our own for the Francigena, and it got us into the Cathedral in Canterbury for free!

 

[Kiwi-family]

Well I sure aint bringing the family Bible!!!
But I would like to make up a credencial with separate titled pages for the different routes we'll be doing and a mention of the charity we'll be walking for....I can always leave a donation at the Pilgrims' Office when we make it to Santiago!

 

[JabbaPapa]

A home-made credencial can be fine, provided that you ensure that you have a request for help and assistance written on its first page for you from your Catholic parish priest -- though honestly, this would necessitate the precondition that you are unable to obtain any other more officially recognised one.

I used a home-made credencial on my pilgrimage from Paris in 1994, until I was able to get my proper one in either SJPP or Roncesvalles (can't remember) -- and on the road to Rome as well.

The one from Paris caused problems during the first days, as I had no such recommendation at the time in it ...

Bottom line, really, though :

If you can obtain a credencial, you should NOT deliberately avoid getting it and deliberately use a home-made one instead. It's just NOT the spirit of the Camino to do so, as it shows disrespect.

If your home parish is where your leaving from walking/horseback/cycling/etc, and you are a devout, practicing Catholic, and your home parish priest creates the text in the passport for you, this is basically the ONLY case where a home-made credencial is fully acceptable on the Camino, and even then some hospitaleros will give you hassle.

 

[SYates]

I would take both, your home made one for you and an official one for the Pilgrim's Office / Compostela. That way you are safe and have the best of both worlds. Buen Camino! SY

 

[peregrino_tom]

If you can obtain a credencial, you should NOT deliberately avoid getting it and deliberately use a home-made one instead. It's just NOT the spirit of the Camino to do so, as it shows disrespect.

Well, that's Julian's opinion and mine is pretty much the opposite!
I don't see anything to revere about a mass-produced card which doesn't actually perform the job very well - the squares for each stamp are too small and you quite often run out of spaces and need to get an extension page stapled on.
I go back to the theme that the camino is about what you make of it. And if you are prepared to spend time creating a well-thought out, high quality credencial, why not? There's just a chance it may inspire one of the producers of the official product to raise their game.
I've just been looking through a few to see what they have in common and what is different on each. A couple of Spanish ones and a French one have a kind of 'terms and conditions' that you are meant to sign. My Asturian one has the Benedicion del Peregrino from the Calixtinus and a bullet point list of 'consideraciones necesarias'. The French one has a recommendation from the president of their pilgrim association. Some have a space for your address and others do not. The CSJ one is a full-on A5 booklet with stapled pages and huge luxurious spaces for each stamp. It has no recommendation, conditions or benediction but you get the rather more prosaic instructions about where to get your free meals in Santiago (by the hotel garage).
I think a well-designed credencial would take the essential and best features from these and maybe add your own ideas that are important to you. How about a space for a few lines and signature that can be completed by a sponsor, mentor (religious or secular) or significant other? Something to call on in difficult times.
I appreciate not everyone's going to agree with this, but if you have any ideas for making your credencial more meaningful and valuable please share, tom

 

[Kiwi-family]

If you can obtain a credencial, you should NOT deliberately avoid getting it and deliberately use a home-made one instead. It's just NOT the spirit of the Camino to do so, as it shows disrespect.

Could you please help me to understand......I'm guessing my ignorance stems from not being a practicing Catholic (Christian, yes, but of a protestant evangelical tradition). I had no idea it would be disrespectful to create your own credencial - could someone please explain why this is so.
The reasons I wanted to make one were to include the logo of the charity we will be walking for, to include pictures from our last Camino (as a symbolic link with the family members who walked last time but cannot this time) and to make sure there would be room for ten weeks worth of sellos (the credencial we got last time would not have been big enough).
If I have offended anyone in my ignorance at even suggesting this, I do sincerely apologise. I hope you will see that my intentions were far from disrespectful. Here's the picture we were thinking of putting on the back:

 

[hecate105]

The sensible option would be to get an 'official' one - so you have the start point/date etc that they carry, then staple your own to it and get both stamped. As others have said there is not much room on many 'official' ones. The official one is to prove that you have left from a certain place and date, and shows your progression, so that you can receive your Compostela cert. good luck,

 

[JabbaPapa]

If you can obtain a credencial, you should NOT deliberately avoid getting it and deliberately use a home-made one instead. It's just NOT the spirit of the Camino to do so, as it shows disrespect.

Could you please help me to understand......I'm guessing my ignorance stems from not being a practicing Catholic (Christian, yes, but of a protestant evangelical tradition). I had no idea it would be disrespectful to create your own credencial - could someone please explain why this is so.
The reasons I wanted to make one were to include the logo of the charity we will be walking for, to include pictures from our last Camino (as a symbolic link with the family members who walked last time but cannot this time) and to make sure there would be room for ten weeks worth of sellos (the credencial we got last time would not have been big enough).
If I have offended anyone in my ignorance at even suggesting this, I do sincerely apologise. I hope you will see that my intentions were far from disrespectful. Here's the picture we were thinking of putting on the back:

It's disrespectful of the organisational efforts that are put into place to ensure that the Camino remains something for pilgrims, and not just for anyone who happens to turn up.

I've thought a little more about this question, and I can actually see a way whereby you could both follow the rules AND have a personalised credencial --- you could order two or three copies, and then personally modify them by cut'n'paste to include your personalisations.

My credencial from Monaco to Compostela is three identical French ones (the version with blank pages, and no little boxes) glued together, and personalised with my certificate of Baptism, a note from my parish priest, and with the pilgrim's certificate from Compostela also attached for the part of the return journey where I needed it. There would be nothing wrong with providing more extensive personalisations along the lines that you're suggesting, which could be coherent with ensuring that they are made on the basis of a properly obtained credencial.

The point is that some of the albergues can be a little strict with unofficial credencials, as they can have problems with tramps trying to cadge free beds for the night and etc.

But yes -- I didn't realise that the plan was for ten weeks of walking, and you would definitely, in any case, need more than just one official credencial for that.

Given these circumstances then, unless this is ten weeks of SJPP > Compostela > SJPP, and the fact that you're actually starting far from the Pyrenees, then an unofficial credencial is FAR more acceptable -- the French are not so worried about these things as the Spanish, and by the time you reach Spain the large number of stamps that you will have collected will outweigh any other consideration.

--

The fact that you're not Catholic should not prevent you asking your local Catholic parish priest for a note to be included on your credencial BTW, nor do you need to pretend to be someone you're not to seek his help -- such a note can be helpful in some places on the Camino, and the blessings of that priest should not be turned down either

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I have some minor disagreement with the Compostela itself and the Latin in it, so I am preparing my own for the Pilgrim Office to sign. Will that be OK?

 

[JabbaPapa]

I have some minor disagreement with the Compostela itself and the Latin in it, so I am preparing my own for the Pilgrim Office to sign. Will that be OK?

No.

 

[robventures]

Just to be absolutely clear: JabbaPappa is offering his own personal opinion rather than laying down any official position.

(It also happens to be a personal opinion that I -- and others -- disagree with. "disrespectful" indeed...)

 

[newfydog]

If you can obtain a credencial, you should NOT deliberately avoid getting it and deliberately use a home-made one instead. It's just NOT the spirit of the Camino to do so, as it shows disrepect.

Sorry Jabba, after 12 years and 6000 km on the trails, I don't recognize you as a judge. No piece of paper from a beauaucracy can attest to whether a person is in the spirt of the Camino or has proper respect for pilgrims. To make such a claim shows true disrespect to sincere pilgrims.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Gosh what started off as a perfectly sensible question with a straightforward answer seems to have taken a wrong turning into some of the strange mythology of the camino. Let's turn to the facts:

It's disrespectful of the organisational efforts that are put into place to ensure that the Camino remains something for pilgrims, and not just for anyone who happens to turn up.

The "official credencial of the cathedral of Santiago" is sold to individuals for 1.50€ and to organisations, tour operators and other outlets for 1€. The primary profits therefore accrue to the Cathedral of Santiago. The organisations and companies who buy them to sell them on put a mark up on the credencial and sell them for more than they paid. These organisations take the profit. Credencial sales are a minor part of the income of the Amigos Associations in Spain and the network worldwide. They raise their money from local grants and fundraising. It is just wrong to suggest that someone innocently making their own credencial is in some way damaging the pilgrimage to Santiago. The profiteers do more damage imho.

The point is that some of the albergues can be a little strict with unofficial credencials, as they can have problems with tramps trying to cadge free beds for the night and etc.

I have to say I have never seen any evidence whatsoever of this nor I suspect has anyone else. The problem with non pilgrims trying to gain access to albergues is that they have official credenciales and claim to to be pilgrims! The camino story is in the sellos and that is where they are detected by sharp eyed hospitaleros. The thought of a tramp making a home made credencial with all of the love that goes into them is just a stretch of the imagination too far for me.

Given these circumstances then, unless this is ten weeks of SJPP > Compostela > SJPP, and the fact that you're actually starting far from the Pyrenees, then an unofficial credencial is FAR more acceptable

This begs the question: acceptable to whom? In my experience the only evidence albergues are interested in is that pilgrims have walked or cycled a reasonable distance to get there and have the sellos to prove it. I have never heard. Not ever ever heard. Not once heard...of anyone being given a difficult time because of the credencial their sellos were collected on.
In terms of acceptability to the Pilgrims' Office that point was dealt with earlier.

The fact that you're not Catholic should not prevent you asking your local Catholic parish priest for a note to be included on your credencial BTW, nor do you need to pretend to be someone you're not to seek his help -- such a note can be helpful in some places on the Camino, and the blessings of that priest should not be turned down either

To speak plainly, this is simply wrong. There is no requirement whatsoever for anyone to have to see a Catholic priest or get a note or get a blessing. The thought that Catholic priests or any other minister of religion are happy to write notes, presumably of recommendation, for perfect strangers is deluded. The thought that these notes could be helpful on camino is simply spurious.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Gosh what started off as a perfectly sensible question with a straightforward answer seems to have taken a wrong turning into some of the strange mythology of the camino. Let's turn to the facts:

I offered opinions based on personal experience, others seem to think this is some sort of polemic.

Oh well.

It's disrespectful of the organisational efforts that are put into place to ensure that the Camino remains something for pilgrims, and not just for anyone who happens to turn up.

The "official credencial of the cathedral of Santiago" is sold to individuals for 1.50€ and to organisations, tour operators and other outlets for 1€. The primary profits therefore accrue to the Cathedral of Santiago. The organisations and companies who buy them to sell them on put a mark up on the credencial and sell them for more than they paid. These organisations take the profit. Credencial sales are a minor part of the income of the Amigos Associations in Spain and the network worldwide. They raise their money from local grants and fundraising. It is just wrong to suggest that someone innocently making their own credencial is in some way damaging the pilgrimage to Santiago.

This is making a mountain out of a molehill, sorry.

The profiteers do more damage imho.

Yep.

The point is that some of the albergues can be a little strict with unofficial credencials, as they can have problems with tramps trying to cadge free beds for the night and etc.

I have to say I have never seen any evidence whatsoever of this nor I suspect has anyone else.

How many of you have walked with an unofficial credencial ? I myself have.

Given these circumstances then, unless this is ten weeks of SJPP > Compostela > SJPP, and the fact that you're actually starting far from the Pyrenees, then an unofficial credencial is FAR more acceptable

This begs the question: acceptable to whom? In my experience the only evidence albergues are interested in is that pilgrims have walked or cycled a reasonable distance to get there and have the sellos to prove it. I have never heard. Not ever ever heard. Not once heard...of anyone being given a difficult time because of the credencial their sellos were collected on.

I made exactly the same point about the sellos myself, you know.

I myself have been given a difficult time on more than one occasion when using an unofficial pilgrim's passport.

The fact that you're not Catholic should not prevent you asking your local Catholic parish priest for a note to be included on your credencial BTW, nor do you need to pretend to be someone you're not to seek his help -- such a note can be helpful in some places on the Camino, and the blessings of that priest should not be turned down either

To speak plainly, this is simply wrong.

?????

There is no requirement whatsoever for anyone to have to see a Catholic priest or get a note or get a blessing.

No there isn't, and I've no idea why you imagine that I said so -- this artificial polemic is reaching very silly proportions.

The thought that Catholic priests or any other minister of religion are happy to write notes, presumably of recommendation, for perfect strangers is deluded.

No, it is not -- I have had two such notes in the past though I was a complete stranger, the first from a pilgrim's office at the Cathedral in Paris in 1994, the second from a priest before my pilgrimage to Rome, and BOTH of them on unofficial credencials.

They are not "notes of recommendation", they are typically notes of blessing and requests for ordinary Christian Charity.

The thought that these notes could be helpful on camino is simply spurious.

They are almost useless in Spain, though exceptionally they may help, but if you're travelling by one of the less-travelled pilgrim's routes and seek help from priests, monasteries, and so forth they can be extremely helpful indeed -- the basis of the Pilgrimage to Santiago remains religious, notwithstanding the MULTIPLE other reasons why most pilgrims seek to walk the Camino nowadays.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Johnnie Walker, thanks for the time you put in to explaining in good detail exactly how the situation stands. Actually your first answer was sufficient to assure me I would not be treading on any official toes to make up my own credencial....but I do appreciate the lengths to which you have subsequently gone to clarify the situation. You were right - it was an innocent question. And hopefully in the spirit of the camino!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

My Credential says "Credential autoridada por la S.A.M.I. Catedral de Santiago de Compostela."

Get their authorization too, and you are golden.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Johnnie Walker, thanks for the time you put in to explaining in good detail exactly how the situation stands. Actually your first answer was sufficient to assure me I would not be treading on any official toes to make up my own credencial....but I do appreciate the lengths to which you have subsequently gone to clarify the situation. You were right - it was an innocent question. And hopefully in the spirit of the camino!

I hope that the (hrm!) .. let's say ... spirited pro et contra debate has at least led you to better understanding of the excellent question that you have asked advice for

I've had negative experiences with unofficial credencials, and all I wanted was to provide some well-meaning caveats.

Bottom line : Buen Camino, peregrino, y que Santiago accamina contigo ... :arrow:

 

[Kiwi-family]

It certainly showed me there were some very dearly held opinions :wink:
I try to live at peace with all men as far as it is possible, I try to be an instrument of grace, I try to love - and this was a good reminder that even if I think I may be right (or at least not wrong), there may be others who disagree and I ought to be considerate of them.
Jabbapappa I will remember your warning if I find myself having any troubles, but because I'll be sticking to regular routes (Baztan, Frances, del Salvador and Primitivo) I don't imagine I will.
Thanks for your input too.