Doing the Camino on behalf of someone who has passed

[dancuk]

Hello to all,

I have tried to find information on the topic of doing the Camino on behalf of some one who has passed. Can anyone advise me on the protocol and if the Compostela is issued in the deceased persons name or in my name. I understand that when asked the reasons for the pilgrimage that is where one would state the reasons such as religious, spiritual ect.. however it is not addressed in the forum. I would be greatful for any information on this topic. Maria

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Maria,
One of our forum members, Johnnie Walker, has done some work in the Pilgrim Office in Santiago, so he might be the best one to help you with this query, as he has more knowledge of the Compostela process than most of the rest of us. He is currently in Spain, but I have pointed out your posting to him for when he next accesses the forum.
Margaret

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hola from Santiago

To answer your question: the Compostela is issued to the person who has completed the pilgrimage. The Pilgrims Office is quite strict about ensuring that it is issued only to the person who has travelled the required distance. Therefore pilgrims who turn up with credenciales for themeselves and their friends because their friends are resting for example will be asked to tell their friends to come to the office personally.

So if (and only if) you tick one of the boxes for religious or religious/other reasons you will be issued with a compostela with the name from the credencial written on it in Latin. The Credencial/ Pilgrim Passprot is the only document you will be asked for.

If you do not tick one of these boxes you will receive a Certificate welcoming you to Santiago.

Quite often people make the pilgrimage in memory of someone who has died and they ask for the name of that person to be added to their Compostela. For many this is an emotional moment. A promise fulfilled.

If this is what you want please explain to the person at the desk at the beginning and I am sure they will be happy to help. If language is an issue there are people in the Pilgrims Office who speak english.

I hope this answers your question. If not or you would like further information please e mail as I can access e mail more ealy than the Forum.

Best wishes

John

 

[dancuk]

Hello John and Margaret,
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question, the information is just what I needed.
Kind regards. Maria

 

[Priscillian]

I think this is a lovely idea and an echo back to the times when this was part of a "pilgrimage statement", if you like. I myself walked this time with the idea of "thinking and thanking" as I have lately realised all the gifts that life has given me, perhaps more now than ever before.

I believe your Camino will be very special and you will have a lot of opportunities to think of your loved one. And I have no doubt that he or she will travel with you.
Buen Camino!
Tracy Saunders
http://www.pilgrimagetoheresy.blogspot.com

 

[dancuk]

Thank you Tracy,
For your kind words.
Maria

 

[dutchpilgrim]

Hi Maria,

I brought some ashes of my beloved wife to Cruz de Ferro.
A very emotional moment.
So she will be on the Camino for ever and ever.

Ultreya,
Carli.

 

[dancuk]

Thank you Carli for sharing this private information. I am sure my brother would have loved to come on this spiritual journey with me, Cruz de ferro is a place of importance along the route.I will bring something from home on his behalf. I would like to have a mass performed if possible for him and my father in Santiago.
Maria

 

[JohnnieWalker]

I´ve double checked this today. The Pilgrims´ Office recognises the tradition on Pîlgrims making pilgrimage on behalf of people who are ill or who have died. In this case they will enter the name of the person who has made the pilgrimage on the Compostela and underneath (as I described above) they will write:

Vicarie Pro - The name of the ill or dead person.

For grammar afficionados: they also write the name of the person on whose behalf the pilgrimage was made in the ablative case.

 

[dancuk]

Thank you John, this is perfect.
Thank you so much for taking the time to find this information for me.

Kind regards
Maria

 

[spanishlancer]

I walked the Camino last year in memory of my Daughter who sadly passed away the year before.As Johnny says just ask the staff in the pilgrims office to add the details to your Compostela and they will oblige. Though I said "I Walked" my daughter was with me every step of the way and encouraged me along when I was tiring. What a wonderful experience. can't wait to repeat it next year when I hope to walk The Ingles from Ferrol.

Ron

 

[Carriew5500]

"I would like to have a mass performed if possible for him and my father in Santiago."

Maria - I know your post is several years old but I was wondering was it possible to have a mass for your brother and your Father. I watched The Way when it first came out and immediately felt a connection with the movie. I knew I wanted to make the journey. Shortly after that we lost my uncle, my father and then my mom within a short amount of time. Each lost was sudden and unexpected the next happening before you could recover from the last. I have made peace with my uncle and my father but my journey with my Mom is far from over. She asked to have her ashes spread over the water. I tried to think for so very long which water. Then I watched the movie again. I knew what I needed to do.

It is just my daughter and I now. It is a very different world for us now. We will be walking our first Camino at the end of May. I would love to be able to arrange a mass for my family.

Thank you
Carrie

 

[mspath]

Carrie,

Perhaps the multi language web site of The Pilgrim Office of the Cathedral of Santiago might be useful for your plans. In particular check the section Services for Pilgrims.

Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[JohnnieWalker]

"I would like to have a mass performed if possible for him and my father in Santiago."

Maria - I know your post is several years old but I was wondering was it possible to have a mass for your brother and your Father. I watched The Way when it first came out and immediately felt a connection with the movie. I knew I wanted to make the journey. Shortly after that we lost my uncle, my father and then my mom within a short amount of time. Each lost was sudden and unexpected the next happening before you could recover from the last. I have made peace with my uncle and my father but my journey with my Mom is far from over. She asked to have her ashes spread over the water. I tried to think for so very long which water. Then I watched the movie again. I knew what I needed to do.

It is just my daughter and I now. It is a very different world for us now. We will be walking our first Camino at the end of May. I would love to be able to arrange a mass for my family.

Thank you
Carrie

Hola Carrie,

Any Catholic priest will be happy to say mass in memory of your loved ones. In the cathedral of Santiago you can enquire in the sacristy. Simply write down the names and speak to one of the staff. If you need assistance with this ask one of the Amigos (with blue tshirts) or another member of staff in the Pilgrims Office. This year there will be a mass in English in one of the chapels of the cathedral every morning from the start of Holy Week through until September. These will be widely advertised. Again simply ask the priest there and he will be happy to say a memorial mass indeed he will probably advise you when he will do so so that you can attend.

regards,

John

 

[Susan hopes]

This post is very timely. I, too, plan on walking the camino the first week of June and my brother's ashes will come with me. It's good to know his name can be a part of the compostela.

 

[unadara]

I have also asked in the Office to get my sister's name added to my Compostela, she was ill at the time, and I gave her the Compostela when I came home. The staff were very helpful. My sister passed away only a few weeks ago and I am off again to walk the Via de la Plata on Apr.8th. It helps me to think she will be with me this time, in spirit.

 

[David Egglestone]

I am doing the walk for my deceased son and also, of course, for my own spirituality. Did you have any problems with the ashes in customs etc or other strange looks from pilgrims?

 

[peregrina nicole]

Hello to all,

I have tried to find information on the topic of doing the Camino on behalf of some one who has passed. Can anyone advise me on the protocol and if the Compostela is issued in the deceased persons name or in my name. I understand that when asked the reasons for the pilgrimage that is where one would state the reasons such as religious, spiritual ect.. however it is not addressed in the forum. I would be greatful for any information on this topic. Maria

Hi! I've been working as a volunteer in the Oficina del Peregrinos and I've been writing compostelas. If you tell the desk staff that your motivation for walking the Camino is in memory of someone who has died, this would be regarded as 'religioso y otro' on the form, but we would regard this as 'espiritual' (spiritual). If you walked the last 100km of a route or cycled the last 200k,, this would make you eligible for a credencial. The name of the person who did the walking/cycling is put on the certificate (in Latin). HOWEVER, you can ask the desk staff to dedicate your compostela to whoever has passeed. There is a space at the bottom of the Latin where we can do this. It helps if you have what you want said written down for us (in what ever language you want). I had a Dutch couple who had a sick son and wanted to have a dedication written to him. They provided me the script in Dutch and I wrote it out for them. This is not a rare thing. We usually have a few people a day who want to dedicate their compostela.

 

[oursonpolaire]

I did the Camino in memory of a deceased friend and colleague in 2014 and the Oficina was very helpful in ensuring that all was recorded on the Compostela and, as well (as the deceased was from a devout RC family), Fr Postlethwaite, the priest officiating at the English pilgrims' mass that season, said a memorial mass for her at the Cathedral, all of which was of great comfort to the family.

 

[Tulle]

As I wrote elsewhere I start walking Camino Ingles next week. If my feet don't fail me I hope to deserve the compostela. Last year my husband suddenly died and it has been a tough time since. We walked from Leon to Santiago some years ago, and also in France until his health put a stop to his walking. I would very much like to have his name on my compostela and it seems from this thread that it won't be a problem. I don't need an appointment in the office? It will be an emotional moment when I ask about this, so I hope I will meet the "right" person...

 

[David Egglestone]

I walked from sjpdp to fisterra in 2014 for my deceased son. I had his name on my passport and when i arrived in the office they were great. The lovely person with a tear in their eye wrote his name on the certificate and on the back wrote my name and that I had walked on his behalf. It was very moving!!

Hello to all,

I have tried to find information on the topic of doing the Camino on behalf of some one who has passed. Can anyone advise me on the protocol and if the Compostela is issued in the deceased persons name or in my name. I understand that when asked the reasons for the pilgrimage that is where one would state the reasons such as religious, spiritual ect.. however it is not addressed in the forum. I would be greatful for any information on this topic. Maria

 

[Deleted member 36903]

I am sorry for your sad loss @Tulle and wish you Buen Camino! Of course this might be a bittersweet experience for you, but I am sure it will also prompt happy memories of walking together. This year, after arriving in SdC from Porto, I asked that my late partner's name be included on my compostella and there was no problem even though there were (what seemed to be) hundreds of pilgrims waiting in line at the Pilgrims' Office, the man behind the counter kindly did as I requested.