Issues with getting my deceased husband on the compostela certificate?

[MarkMiami]

Hello All,
my husband passed away this past October. I will be walking the CF from mid-May to mid-June for him, and for me. I read here that folks can get a deceased family member name on the compostela certificate, but am wondering if I will be encountering issues as a same-sex couple? It's all still raw and sensitive for me, so thanks for any guidance you can provide.

 

[David]

Hi Mark - sad time. Yes it can be done. An Australian friend did it for deceased friends.
Take a pilgrim passport for him and when you get your passport stamped get his stamped at well - you will often find yourself explaining and that can be emotional, both for you and for them ....
and do the same at the pilgrim office, just explain and offer it up.

I hope that my Aussie pal will come on here and give more information on what she did and how she did it, and whether she had any problems at any time - I was blessed to be able to watch sometimes - such a lovely thing to do and lovely (tearful) moments too.

As for same-sex relationships - well, I cannot say about that - love is love and it will strike where it will.
Will you have problems? - I hope not, and if you do I hope you show compassion to their ignorance.

I know that there are no platitudes that can help you in your sorrow - time, love, grace ... trust that all will be well - but it may help you to remember that he didn't die, rather he fell out of his broken body and up into the welcoming arms of angels xx.

I wish you well - and hope that your Camino is healing.

Buen Camino!

 

[peregrina2000]

Hello All,
my husband passed away this past October. I will be walking the CF from mid-May to mid-June for him, and for me. I read here that folks can get a deceased family member name on the compostela certificate, but am wondering if I will be encountering issues as a same-sex couple? It's all still raw and sensitive for me, so thanks for any guidance you can provide.

Hi, Mark,
Cyber-space condolences always feel inappropriate to me, so impersonal, but please accept my sympathy on your loss. As someone who has grieved the death of an immediate family member on the camino, I found that being alone with me and my thoughts allowed me to come to grips more than I had been able to do in my time at home. (I was on a very solitary camino, the Ebro/Castellano-Aragones, so I was able to shout, cry, talk all the while walking through natural beauty). I hope the camino works its restorative magic on you as well.

As regards the compostela issue, although the cathedral will not issue a compostela in the name of anyone other than the person who walked, you can have your compostela annotated at the bottom “vicarie pro” and then the name of the person you wish to honor or remember. I have done this on the birth of a grandchild several times. See this thread for more stories and information.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/walking-for-someone-else.50306/#post-548561

I would have your husband’s name written down along with the Latin words when you get to the counter, and I expect the pilgrims’ office will simply put it at the bottom of your compostela. I would be very surprised if they asked you any personal questions about your relationship with the person whose memory you want to honor. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[MarkMiami]

Thanks, Laurie and David for your replies, and condolences. I don't think I want to have to explain myself at every station (too traumatic), so I would just do mine and ask at the pilgrim office to put his name on the bottom of the compostela. Much appreciated! Buen camino..

 

[Leibniz]

Buen Camino, Mark. May you find comfort and healing on your way.

 

[MarkMiami]

Buen Camino, Mark. May you find comfort and healing on your way.

Thank you!

 

[Delphinoula]

I thought of making a type of tibetan prayer flag, for each person I like to take with me on my Camino , so as my symbol. I can unfold it where it’s beautiful and can let their beauty fly in the wind and bless my day and me. Well maybe you don’t need physical symbols but just thinking about this helps me. Bless you in your special time.

 

[MarkMiami]

I thought of making a type of tibetan prayer flag, for each person I like to take with me on my Camino , so as my symbol. I can unfold it where it’s beautiful and can let their beauty fly in the wind and bless my day and me. Well maybe you don’t need physical symbols but just thinking about this helps me. Bless you in your special time.

Beautiful idea, thanks! Also will take some small stones (semi-precious) of his along to deposit at special places incl cruz de ferro

 

[naplesdon]

Laurie's answer is spot on.
I did the same for my deceased daughter and decided to only do it once, even though we have walked together for 8 years.
I would not stress with trying to explain yourself all along the Camino. The office in Santiago will understand.
Unfortunately, the ending of the movie the Way is not an accurate portrayal.

 

[freeflyer123]

I was very moved by your gesture for your loving husband, Mark. You must miss him terribly, and you will feel his presence every step of the way. I am sure the office in Santiago will be very happy to do what you ask.

You don't need to explain why you have undertaken to do the Camino if you don't wish to, and I am sure people will understand. Leaving some stones along the way will be amazingly cathartic and you will always be able to think back to those very special moments, specially when you recall that you have placed a stone for both yourself and your husband at the top of Cruz de Ferro. I did so back in 2013 by placing small stones from all my families (even those in Africa who had sent them over for me). As I had to carry them in my bike pannier I was relieved when I reached Cruz de Ferro! We may not all be together in body, but we certainly are in spirit as our stones are now together in one place.

 

[JohnMcM]

Hello All,
my husband passed away this past October. I will be walking the CF from mid-May to mid-June for him, and for me. I read here that folks can get a deceased family member name on the compostela certificate, but am wondering if I will be encountering issues as a same-sex couple? It's all still raw and sensitive for me, so thanks for any guidance you can provide.

You should be able to get a Compostela in the name of another. I did last year. Please, allow me explain.

Last year I undertook a Camino for my sister.

Some years ago, Margaret (my sister) and her husband Charlie had planned to walk a Camino together. Charlie got cancer and after a hugely brave battle by him we lost him.

Margaret took a long time to get over the loss of Charlie. Then one day she decided to walk "their" Camino alone in his memory. Before she could set out, Margaret too got cancer. After the chemotherapy and radiation treatments she underwent and the impact of the cancer on her body, it was an improbable dream for her to walk their Camino.

Long story short. I walked their Camino for them.

I explained the situation when I got to the Pilgrim Ofice in SDC. The volunteer dealing with me listened patiently as I explained my reason for that particular Camino. He smiled a gracious and never to be forgotten smile at me, excused himself, held a conversation with a couple of people behind the counter, and returned to me. He asked me my sister's name, bent over to his task, and a few moments later handed me a Compostela that had a handwritten entry at the foot which read "Vicanie Pro - followed by my sister's name".

I burst into tears, kissed his hand, took the Compostela from him and left the office a delightfully saddened man.

I only asked for Margaret's name because she still holds the dream of walking for Charlie.

Margaret has seen her Compostela and looks forward to collecting Charlie's.

Buen ( happy-ending) Camino

 

[donalomahony]

Vicanie Pro

That's the key. Did it for my deceased father, from (RIP1984), no issue in Pilgrim Office, please don't overthink it...

 

[JabbaPapa]

my husband passed away this past October. I will be walking the CF from mid-May to mid-June for him, and for me. I read here that folks can get a deceased family member name on the compostela certificate, but am wondering if I will be encountering issues as a same-sex couple? It's all still raw and sensitive for me, so thanks for any guidance you can provide.

The Compostela certificate is a document of the Catholic Church, and so that relationship is not recognised and I'd suggest not embarrassing the people at the Pilgrims Office by asking them to write it on the certificate.

But for the major part of your question, people have been doing vicarious pilgrimages (which is to say for the intentions of another person) for centuries, and this can include but is by no means restricted to deceased family members.

So there is nothing at all to prevent requesting this for him, regardless of non-recognition of the relationship.

And as Peregrina2000 has suggested, seek an inscription “vicarie pro” on the Certificate.

 

[oursonpolaire]

All the Cathedral volunteers will want is the name of the person-- they do not write in the relationship. I have had them do this for me, and have always found them to be kind and sympathetic.

 

[David]

I think I was wrong about my friend - I know that she did passports along the Camino for her deceased friends but now realise that I had only assumed she received compostelas for them - apologies for my error -

 

[Jodean]

Am so sorry for your loss Mark. I hope this will be healing walk for you. Walked with 2 women this past Sept. who had recently lost their husbands, but they were carrying ashes with them too, which they left at certain spots.

I was wondering about doing this for my niece who was murdered almost a year ago. Can I just tell them her name when I get to the Pilgrim office? I carried a shell for her last April and will be bringing it to her grave soon, but if I could get a Compestela in her name, that might mean more to my step-sister.

 

[FrankWall]

Good luck with your walk Mark. You have received some excellent advice advice here. I hope your Camino is enriching.

 

[JennyH94]

Hi Mark -

I'm the friend who David mentioned in his posts. I understand completely that you would find speaking about why you might want an additional credential to be stamped all along The Way traumatic ... yes, it would be very difficult.

I carried two extra credentials with me on my camino from Burgos to Rabanal in 2017 - one for a Camino friend whose daughter had passed away the year before, and another for a close friend who had a dear friend who had wanted to walk The Camino, who'd begun her training, and was then diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and only lived for another four months. Neither of my friends knew I was having the credentials stamped in memory of those who had passed away.

The first two times I asked for the additional stamps and explained the reason why were very difficult (not knowing enough Spanish to make myself understood certainly didn't help), however, as David said above, there were tears all round. The empathy I received as those kind people (a hotel staffer and a staffer at the Cathedral in Burgos) heard my request and stamped the credentials meant more than words can say. It continued to be the case for the entire time I was on camino and it deepened my connection with the hospitaleros and others who kindly stamped the credentials for me. There were tears from me and from those stamping the credentials in more instances than not. It made an always special camino even more so.

It was a difficult thing to do - to open myself to strangers, try to make them understand in a mixture of faltering Spanish and English why I was asking for the extra credentials to be stamped - but the gift of understanding and empathy I received was so huge - it was overwhelming at times. As I finished my camino at Rabanal that year I wasn't able to get a Compostela for my friends - I hadn't walked the last 100km - but I did have the final stamp from the Pilgrims Office in Santiago stamped on to the credentials and I was very grateful for that. My friends were completely dumbstruck by what I had done and the stamped credentials are very precious to them.

I hope that your camino will bring you everything that is wonderful and that you will once again feel joy on those ancient, magical and sacred paths.

Best wishes from Oz -
Jenny

 

[MarkMiami]

Am so sorry for your loss Mark. I hope this will be healing walk for you. Walked with 2 women this past Sept. who had recently lost their husbands, but they were carrying ashes with them too, which they left at certain spots.

I was wondering about doing this for my niece who was murdered almost a year ago. Can I just tell them her name when I get to the Pilgrim office? I carried a shell for her last April and will be bringing it to her grave soon, but if I could get a Compestela in her name, that might mean more to my step-sister.

So sorry to hear that ....

 

[MarkMiami]

Hi Mark -

I'm the friend who David mentioned in his posts. I understand completely that you would find speaking about why you might want an additional credential to be stamped all along The Way traumatic ... yes, it would be very difficult.

I carried two extra credentials with me on my camino from Burgos to Rabanal in 2017 - one for a Camino friend whose daughter had passed away the year before, and another for a close friend who had a dear friend who had wanted to walk The Camino, who'd begun her training, and was then diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and only lived for another four months. Neither of my friends knew I was having the credentials stamped in memory of those who had passed away.

The first two times I asked for the additional stamps and explained the reason why were very difficult (not knowing enough Spanish to make myself understood certainly didn't help), however, as David said above, there were tears all round. The empathy I received as those kind people (a hotel staffer and a staffer at the Cathedral in Burgos) heard my request and stamped the credentials meant more than words can say. It continued to be the case for the entire time I was on camino and it deepened my connection with the hospitaleros and others who kindly stamped the credentials for me. There were tears from me and from those stamping the credentials in more instances than not. It made an always special camino even more so.

It was a difficult thing to do - to open myself to strangers, try to make them understand in a mixture of faltering Spanish and English why I was asking for the extra credentials to be stamped - but the gift of understanding and empathy I received was so huge - it was overwhelming at times. As I finished my camino at Rabanal that year I wasn't able to get a Compostela for my friends - I hadn't walked the last 100km - but I did have the final stamp from the Pilgrims Office in Santiago stamped on to the credentials and I was very grateful for that. My friends were completely dumbstruck by what I had done and the stamped credentials are very precious to them.

I hope that your camino will bring you everything that is wonderful and that you will once again feel joy on those ancient, magical and sacred paths.

Best wishes from Oz -
Jenny

Thanks, Jenny, for your words. It's quite impressive that you were able to do that, but I just don't think I have the energy for that and so will seek the Vicarie Pro inscription on the compostela. There'll be probably enough conversations along the way, though, anyway, to engage with others over life, and loss...buen camino!

 

[t2andreo]

As a long-time Pilgrim Office volunteer, please allow me to elaborate on some of the comments above.

1. Maintaining a second credencial in parallel may be a meaningful tribute for you, but it does not affect having a second name added to your Compostela. So, go with your heart on this suggestion...

2. The official rules state that any person can accomplish a Camino on behalf of a deceased person, or a live person whose physical condition is such that they will NEVER be able to do a Camino. No documentation of a relationship or condition is usually asked for.

3. When you present yourself to request your Compostela, you merely inform the person behind the counter that you did this Camino for the memory of or on behalf of a deceased family member, friend, or whatever...and could they please add the person's name to your Compostela.

Again, no proof will be asked for. However, it would be helpful if you could provide the name of the person, clearly spelled out in English / Roman letters, so they can write it accurately (perhaps with the first (given) name in Latin).

The staff person will write "In Vicare Pro" at the bottom of the Compostela, followed by the person's name... This Latin phrase means, in its colloquial form, "in place of..."

You do not need to volunteer the actual relationship beyond what you choose. This said, and in the case of same gender relationships, and understanding that we are talking about the Roman Catholic Church, I suggest that less said is better...

Most commonly heard requests are for pilgrims requesting a deceased spouse, sibling, child, or parent. However, I have even instructed people who ask about adding their human friends. I have even been asked about adding deceased and beloved pets. Again, without judgement, I tell them to indicate the pet's name as though it was a human, using their family name... "...eg. Peaches Smith."

For what it is worth, I have done this twice, once for my younger brother, who died many years ago, and more recently for my father, who passed in 2017. I will likely be doing it for more family members and friends in future, at least as long as I can walk.

Final point, Catholic Church dogma, applicable to practicing Catholics, states that any indulgence accruing to the soul of the person performing the required action or duty (i.e. the formal activities at the Cathedral on arrival) to earn the indulgence, or within 15 days, ALSO ACCRUE TO THE SOUL OF THE DECEASED PERSON.

So, practically speaking, this means that, as a Catholic, if you were to arrive at Santiago, and perform the actions specified for a Catholic to obtain a plenary indulgence during the coming 2021 Holy Year, your spiritual indulgence also applies to the person named on your Compostela...

I did not make this up. These last two points can be verified by checking the Cathedral website and searching for plenary indulgence ("indulgencia plenaria"). Examples of other recent grants of this sort of indulgence by the Pope will result.

The 2021 Holy Year provisions have not yet been posted. For those Catholics out there who do not know, or who have forgotten, what a plenary indulgence is, check here:

Introduction to Indulgences - Prayers - Catholic Online

AN introduction to indulgences. What are indulgences? How do indulgences work? Why do Catholics have indulgences?

www.catholic.org

I do not make this stuff up.. I was born into this tradition, and it sort of stuck with me over more than 65 years... I don't make the news...I just report it...

Hope this helps...

 

[t2andreo]

Am so sorry for your loss Mark. I hope this will be healing walk for you. Walked with 2 women this past Sept. who had recently lost their husbands, but they were carrying ashes with them too, which they left at certain spots.

I was wondering about doing this for my niece who was murdered almost a year ago. Can I just tell them her name when I get to the Pilgrim office? I carried a shell for her last April and will be bringing it to her grave soon, but if I could get a Compestela in her name, that might mean more to my step-sister.

You CANNOT obtain a separate Compostela for any other person, deceased or living. You CAN have that person's name appended to the bottom of your Compostela like this:

"In Vicare Pro Fname Lname"

This means that you did the Camino for that person... Please see my related post above...

The rules state that every person must present themselves, in person, to request a Compostela. The ONLY exception is for a deceased person, or other disabled / unable to ever do a Camino person, and who is listed In Vicare Pro on another pilgrims Compostela...

Hope this helps.

 

[JabbaPapa]

You CANNOT obtain a separate Compostela for any other person, deceased or living. You CAN have that person's name appended to the bottom of your Compostela

True, but that's really because the Indulgences that you mention in the earlier post do not depend on obtaining a Compostela -- though the fact that a vicarious pilgrimage can have an annotation to that effect on the certificate is great possibility, and it can be helpful to people as much psychologically as spiritually or even religiously.

I would add that pets (according to Catholic doctrine) have spirits rather than souls, and so have no need for such efforts, for they retain all innocence.

It's good though that the so-called "pet compostela" has been created in recent years, as a certificate to commemorate those animals that actually accompany their masters on their Caminos.

--

That's enough religion !!! LOL

 

[Jenyat53]

Hi Mark, such a sad time for you. What a great decision to walk for your husband. My partner (who has never been a walker) decided as she watched my Camiño addiction grow each year .... that if anything happened to me (I am a deal older than her) she would have to walk the Camiño every year in my honour. That said, she decided to train and now we are nearing the end of our Sanabres Camiño. Our second in two years.
I agree with most of the very wise advice you have received above but I also think it is a fine line between observing the sensibilities of the Catholic Church and denying the existence and reality of many of us who find ourselves in love with a person of the same gender. Your love was deep and real. He was your husband. I hope you find spaces and trust and courage to share the depth of your love and your loss in ways that work for you.
Very best wishes Jen

 

[t2andreo]

True, but that's really because the Indulgences that you mention in the earlier post do not depend on obtaining a Compostela -- though the fact that a vicarious pilgrimage can have an annotation to that effect on the certificate is great possibility, and it can be helpful to people as much psychologically as spiritually or even religiously.

I would add that pets (according to Catholic doctrine) have spirits rather than souls, and so have no need for such efforts, for they retain all innocence.

It's good though that the so-called "pet compostela" has been created in recent years, as a certificate to commemorate those animals that actually accompany their masters on their Caminos.

--

That's enough religion !!! LOL

You are mostly correct. The Compostela is NOT a prerequisite for obtaining any indulgence.

You are likely correct vis a vis the innocence of a pet’s soul. However, as a cat person who has many friends with all manner of furry children, I would never presume to tell them otherwise.

My role as a volunteer is to help people have a positive experience. So, I do whatever to get a smile, or tears of joy. It works for me.

As a point of order, the recently instituted ‘pet Compostela’ was created by a local pet rescue charity. THERE IS NO RELATIONSHIP TO THE CATHEDRAL PILGRIM OFFICE, and the routine issuance of Compostelas to arriving pilgrims who qualify.

To avoid frustration and disappointment, I want it to be clear that you cannot, technically, obtain a separate Compostela at the Pilgrim Office for your pet...PERIOD.

You CAN obtain this new, secular document from the local group in Santiago. I do not have the website info. Hopefully, someone else will contribute this information.

The only thing you can do at the Pilgrim Office is to:

1. Add your pet, in Vicare Pro, without pointing out that this is a non-human...

2. If you ask for, and pay, for the optional distance certificate, you MIGHT ask to have your pet added... John Smith & Fluffy Smith.

That said, I continue to disapprove of taking pets on Camino. But, whatever...

Hope this helps.

 

[MarkMiami]

The Compostela certificate is a document of the Catholic Church, and so that relationship is not recognised and I'd suggest not embarrassing the people at the Pilgrims Office by asking them to write it on the certificate.

But for the major part of your question, people have been doing vicarious pilgrimages (which is to say for the intentions of another person) for centuries, and this can include but is by no means restricted to deceased family members.

So there is nothing at all to prevent requesting this for him, regardless of non-recognition of the relationship.

And as Peregrina2000 has suggested, seek an inscription “vicarie pro” on the Certificate.

Thanks for your opinion- they should not be embarrased, though, especially since Spain has same-sex marriages - I was raised Catholic and left among other things because of being sexual abused by clergy myself, so

Hi Mark, such a sad time for you. What a great decision to walk for your husband. My partner (who has never been a walker) decided as she watched my Camiño addiction grow each year .... that if anything happened to me (I am a deal older than her) she would have to walk the Camiño every year in my honour. That said, she decided to train and now we are nearing the end of our Sanabres Camiño. Our second in two years.
I agree with most of the very wise advice you have received above but I also think it is a fine line between observing the sensibilities of the Catholic Church and denying the existence and reality of many of us who find ourselves in love with a person of the same gender. Your love was deep and real. He was your husband. I hope you find spaces and trust and courage to share the depth of your love and your loss in ways that work for you.
Very best wishes Jen

Thanks so much, Jen, y buen camino to you both!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Thanks for your opinion- they should not be embarrased, though, especially since Spain has same-sex marriages - I was raised Catholic and left among other things because of being sexual abused by clergy myself, so

How horrid !!

If it helps in any way, my entire 2019 Camino is in prayer and penitence and reparation against these evils.

 

[hel&scott]

Laurie's response is spot on as usual. It is worth noting that they only issue one certificate, not two, which is appropriate when you do the walk on behalf of someone else.

As a non Catholic I don't ask for a compostella, but when i carried Scotts ashes to Finistere last year I took his old NZ passport and had it stamped along the way and gave it to his daughter when we met in Santiago before the last section of a very difficult Camino as she hadn't been able to join us for the longer walk.

A memorial Camino can, as Laurie says, be very cathartic, for our family it was a chance to meet and remaniss over the many walks we shared with Scott. Many tears of laughter and regret where shed. It was hard enought completing The camino without having to explain to others why we walking, or why my pack was so damn heavy. So I didn't tell anyone, just got the sellos discretely and moved on.

Good luck with your walk Mark, I hope it brings you peace.

 

[MarkMiami]

How horrid !!

If it helps in any way, my entire 2019 Camino is in prayer and penitence and reparation against these evils.

oops, that was not supposed to appear- didn't want to get into that. I wish you well on your camino but that's going to need also more control by and less complicity from church itself. But again, am not here to debate that...

Laurie's response is spot on as usual. It is worth noting that they only issue one certificate, not two, which is appropriate when you do the walk on behalf of someone else.

As a non Catholic I don't ask for a compostella, but when i carried Scotts ashes to Finistere last year I took his old NZ passport and had it stamped along the way and gave it to his daughter when we met in Santiago before the last section of a very difficult Camino as she hadn't been able to join us for the longer walk.

A memorial Camino can, as Laurie says, be very cathartic, for our family it was a chance to meet and remaniss over the many walks we shared with Scott. Many tears of laughter and regret where shed. It was hard enought completing The camino without having to explain to others why we walking, or why my pack was so damn heavy. So I didn't tell anyone, just got the sellos discretely and moved on.

Good luck with your walk Mark, I hope it brings you peace.

Thank you!

 

[Former member 49149]

As a long-time Pilgrim Office volunteer, please allow me to elaborate on some of the comments above.

1. Maintaining a second credencial in parallel may be a meaningful tribute for you, but it does not affect having a second name added to your Compostela. So, go with your heart on this suggestion...

2. The official rules state that any person can accomplish a Camino on behalf of a deceased person, or a live person whose physical condition is such that they will NEVER be able to do a Camino. No documentation of a relationship or condition is usually asked for.

3. When you present yourself to request your Compostela, you merely inform the person behind the counter that you did this Camino for the memory of or on behalf of a deceased family member, friend, or whatever...and could they please add the person's name to your Compostela.

Again, no proof will be asked for. However, it would be helpful if you could provide the name of the person, clearly spelled out in English / Roman letters, so they can write it accurately (perhaps with the first (given) name in Latin).

The staff person will write "In Vicare Pro" at the bottom of the Compostela, followed by the person's name... This Latin phrase means, in its colloquial form, "in place of..."

You do not need to volunteer the actual relationship beyond what you choose. This said, and in the case of same gender relationships, and understanding that we are talking about the Roman Catholic Church, I suggest that less said is better...

Most commonly heard requests are for pilgrims requesting a deceased spouse, sibling, child, or parent. However, I have even instructed people who ask about adding their human friends. I have even been asked about adding deceased and beloved pets. Again, without judgement, I tell them to indicate the pet's name as though it was a human, using their family name... "...eg. Peaches Smith."

For what it is worth, I have done this twice, once for my younger brother, who died many years ago, and more recently for my father, who passed in 2017. I will likely be doing it for more family members and friends in future, at least as long as I can walk.

Final point, Catholic Church dogma, applicable to practicing Catholics, states that any indulgence accruing to the soul of the person performing the required action or duty (i.e. the formal activities at the Cathedral on arrival) to earn the indulgence, or within 15 days, ALSO ACCRUE TO THE SOUL OF THE DECEASED PERSON.

So, practically speaking, this means that, as a Catholic, if you were to arrive at Santiago, and perform the actions specified for a Catholic to obtain a plenary indulgence during the coming 2021 Holy Year, your spiritual indulgence also applies to the person named on your Compostela...

I did not make this up. These last two points can be verified by checking the Cathedral website and searching for plenary indulgence ("indulgencia plenaria"). Examples of other recent grants of this sort of indulgence by the Pope will result.

The 2021 Holy Year provisions have not yet been posted. For those Catholics out there who do not know, or who have forgotten, what a plenary indulgence is, check here:

Introduction to Indulgences - Prayers - Catholic Online

AN introduction to indulgences. What are indulgences? How do indulgences work? Why do Catholics have indulgences?

www.catholic.org

I do not make this stuff up.. I was born into this tradition, and it sort of stuck with me over more than 65 years... I don't make the news...I just report it...

Hope this helps...

I would like to thank you, t2andreo, for your reply quoted here by me. I have just shown it to a pilgrim who should have been walking with his best friend, but his friend died recently. He is overjoyed. He is very happy to know that he can indeed ask for his friend’s name to be added to his Compostela. I took a screen shot of the relevant paragraphs and sent them to his phone so he can prepare in advance, with the suggestions you made about writing it out before hand. Thank you. Experience surely is a great teacher.

 

[t2andreo]

Where is your friend? Are they on Camino now?

I am working at the Pilgrim Office through 12 August. I am ALWAYS available to run interference if need be in these situations.

Let me know. To send personal or contact information, please use the private conversation function so the world does not see email addresses or text numbers.

Hope this helps.

 

[Former member 49149]

Where is your friend? Are they on Camino now?

I am working at the Pilgrim Office through 12 August. I am ALWAYS available to run interference if need be in these situations.

Let me know. To send personal or contact information, please use the private conversation function so the world does not see email addresses or text numbers.

Hope this helps.

Pm on its way