Starting the Ingles in Texas is now Possible

[ShoshTrvls]

A few weeks ago someone posted about a “start” to the Ingles in Florida, but the walk hadn’t yet been defined.

For those who do want to get the first 25 KMs in the US before staring in A Coruña, it looks like there’s now a 30KM Camino in San Antonio Texas that takes you to 4 Franciscan missions and is apparently approved as an official start for the Ingles.

Now you can officially start the Way of Saint James in Texas

El Camino de San Antonio Missions Trail in Texas is now the only place outside Europe where one can officially begin walking the Camino de Santiago.

aleteia.org

 

[KDub]

Awesome! Sounds like a road trip in the future!!

 

[CWBuff]

1. Do we have to walk backwards considering that the Franciscans ARRIVED to America
2. Do you get the Credenciale with sellos?

 

[ShoshTrvls]

1. Do we have to walk backwards considering that the Franciscans ARRIVED to America
2. Do you get the Credenciale with sellos?

It appears that you do get a credential and stamps at each mission.

Register For a Compostela Pilgrimage

caminosanantonio.org

 

[CWBuff]

Thanks.
The site says that you CAN DRIVE and obtain stamps in indicated places... thus completed in 1 say

 

[VNwalking]

The site says that you CAN DRIVE and obtain stamps in indicated places... thus completed in 1 say

For a Compostela in Santiago, presumably walking will be required. Anyone who's worked in the Pilgrim's Office will know for sure, but I can't imagine them accepting those miles, if done in a car.

 

[Kathar1na]

Some claims in the linked article and on the website of caminosanantonio.org are fantasy claims or perhaps misunderstood claims. There is no partnership that was established. The El Camino de San Antonio Missions Trail in Texas is not the only place outside Europe where one can officially begin walking the Camino de Santiago.

Simple fact: You can ask for and get a Compostela when you have walked any 25 km in your home country and then walked the 75 km or so from Coruña to Santiago. All you have to do is provide some kind of documentation that you did indeed walk the first 25 km of this non-contiguous 100 km path to Santiago de Compostela. Stamps of any kind are an easy and elegant way to prove it and you will be trusted that you did walk on foot when you present your credencial with the two stamps for start point and end point of your 25 km at the Santiago Pilgrim Office or more stamps if you like stamp collecting. 25 km is not much - for many it is one day of walking.

Come to think of it: That's actually a discussion we've not had yet. How many stamps are required for the 25 km walked abroad?

As to the statement that "pilgrims may journey to the San Antonio missions by driving, walking and cycling" - well, duh, how many times has it not been pointed out that you can make pilgrimage to a pilgrimage site or sites by car and on a bus or by plane??? This is about pilgrimage to the sites in Texas and not in Spain.

Simple fact:
Compostela = 100 km on foot
Pilgrimage = by any means of travel and any means of transport

 

[ShoshTrvls]

Thanks.
The site says that you CAN DRIVE and obtain stamps in indicated places... thus completed in 1 say

You can do that in Galacia too - and just like in Galacia, honest pilgrims would not seek a compostela if they had driven. Also of note, they provide different certificate completions based on how you traveled.

Register for Your Pilgrimage

caminosanantonio.org

 

[Kathar1na]

Register for Your Pilgrimage

caminosanantonio.org

Depending on your mood of the day, I guess, you may giggle as I did, or you may be enraged about the terminology used.

The whole thing is obviously inspired by the global success and brand recognition of the Camino de Santiago: You can register for a "El Camino de San Antonio Compostela pilgrimage" where, under the tab Requirements, they list what a "Peregrino Certificate pilgrim" must do. Their requirements are a copy-paste job from the Santiago de Compostela credencial and the Santiago Oficina de Peregrino website but they refer to the Camino San Antonio job.

Not much wrong with it, in my humble opinion. Win-win if more people visit these missions and the San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio in Texas, USA.

BTW, I understand from Wikipedia that the city of San Antonio in Texas is named after San Antonio de Padua. Saint Anthony of Padua is different from Saint Anthony of Egypt who belongs to the San Antón site in Spain just before Castrojeriz. This other Saint Anthony is a topic of discussion in a current forum thread.

Saint Anthony of Padua helps you find lost items. Saint Anthony of Egypt was believed to help cure ergotism.

 

[ShoshTrvls]

Not much wrong with it, in my humble opinion. Win-win if more people visit these missions and the San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio in Texas, USA.

A win if in doing so, people also learn and reflect on some of the less glorious history of the Church.

 

[M2ME]

This is the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park with a “Camino “ twist. https://www.nps.gov/saan/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm
They have their own park passport which can be stamped at each of the missions.

 

[Kathar1na]

This is the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park with a “Camino “ twist. https://www.nps.gov/saan/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm
They have their own park passport which can be stamped at each of the missions.

Thanks, this is helpful to understand: So it is a US National Historical Park.

These stamps are neat, btw.

And as I have now learnt, independent of the National Park, this year the Archdiocese of San Antonio created an El Camino de San Antonio Missions pilgrimage center which aims to link all five San Antonio missions (4 colonial churches and 1 cathedral) and serve as a starting point to a curated experience that also encompasses Europe - as described in this link.

 

[nikkita]

1. Do we have to walk backwards considering that the Franciscans ARRIVED to America
2. Do you get the Credenciale with sellos?

You have to get on the plane and get to the English Camino, what you do, one walked the Texas Camino and received your proof, you can subtract 30 km, if you wish from your Camino, obviously from the starting point, and walk into Santiago.

 

[CWBuff]

@nikkita - yes i do understand that. If anything I believe the idea here is to allow folks to start at A Coruna instead of Ferrol and still be able to claim the Compostela.
My # 1 was a joke (if the Franciscans arrives in America and walked inland while establishing missions, do i have to (literally) walk BACKWARDS - no need to answer, perhaps just chuckle)
# 2 - was more or less a serious question the answer to which is YES, and at the same time its already an ongoing thing as part of El Camino de San Antonio anyways.

 

[JabbaPapa]

It's always been possible, well at least "officially" since the Cathedral started allowing people to start abroad then finish on the Inglés, but it's lovely to hear about it becoming more organised by good pilgrim associations.

Another Texan route would be walk to Houston, cargo ship to a European cargo port, walk from there to Santiago.

And there's always the walk to the airport option ...

 

[JabbaPapa]

Come to think of it: That's actually a discussion we've not had yet. How many stamps are required for the 25 km walked abroad?

Rules say 2/day. I doubt it's any different over those 25-30 K.

Excellent point !!

 

[Evan White]

I walked this in late Nov '23 from Mission Espada to San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio. I could have done it in a day but I started late and the Pilgrim's office would have been closed when I finished. It was a pleasant walk, mostly along the river and the Missions are beautiful (UNESCO recognized). I'll use the Texas mileage and start from Coruna on the Ingles, hopefully late February or early March. I'll let you know if it's accepted, personally I think it'll be fine.

 

[ShoshTrvls]

Thanks for this. Did you stay near the trail overnight, or drive to/from a hotel in the center of San Antonio?


Apparently there have already been Compostela’s issued by the Pilgrim’s Office in SdC based upon this walk + Coruña.

 

[Dave]

As it happens, I've just posted a new episode of the Camino Podcast focused on the Camino San Antonio, the Baby Steps Camino / Camino de la Unidad in Florida, and Saint James' Way in England. Three options for starting the Camino officially (the Florida option is almost good-to-go for independent walkers, while the other two are fully operational) outside of Spain.

https://soundcloud.com/user-939742370%2Fepisode-76-starting-the-camino-in-england-florida-and-texas

 

[Evan White]

Thanks for this. Did you stay near the trail overnight, or drive to/from a hotel in the center of San Antonio?


Apparently there have already been Compostela’s issued by the Pilgrim’s Office in SdC based upon this walk + Coruña.

Thanks, that's great to know. I parked at Mission Conception on Friday and took an Uber to Mission Espada and walked back up to Conception. I finished on Monday by walking Conception to the Cathedral. It would have been nice to stay downtown but prices are usually higher downtown so I was staying about 5 mi away.

 

[Evan White]

As it happens, I've just posted a new episode of the Camino Podcast focused on the Camino San Antonio, the Baby Steps Camino / Camino de la Unidad in Florida, and Saint James' Way in England. Three options for starting the Camino officially (the Florida option is almost good-to-go for independent walkers, while the other two are fully operational) outside of Spain.

https://soundcloud.com/user-939742370%2Fepisode-76-starting-the-camino-in-england-florida-and-texas

Thanks for that, I'll give it a listen!

 

[worldwalker]

I understand that the 25km of the Camino de San Antonio can be used as the starting distance but what about timing? Is there a timeframe in which the Camino de Santiago portion must be completed for the 25km of the Camino de San Antonio to be counted? For instance, and the use of extreme is deliberate to make a point, could one walk the Camino de San Antonio today and finish the Camino de Santiago in Spain 5, 10, 20 years from now?

 

[Evan White]

I understand that the 25km of the Camino de San Antonio can be used as the starting distance but what about timing? Is there a timeframe in which the Camino de Santiago portion must be completed for the 25km of the Camino de San Antonio to be counted? For instance, and the use of extreme is deliberate to make a point, could one walk the Camino de San Antonio today and finish the Camino de Santiago in Spain 5, 10, 20 years from now?

Interesting question and I don't know what the official answer is. I did a quick search on the forum but haven't really seen a suitable answer. There are many people that walk a Camino intermittently in stages with breaks that span years before they complete it and collect a Compostela. I don't see why this would be any different. It's something that you've completed and can't really be "taken away" so to speak unless you lose the documentation/credential from SA. It's an accredited route and as long as you have the documentation I don't know why you wouldn't be issued a Compostela, no matter the amount of time that's elapsed.

I'm curious to know if anyone else has an answer. Or maybe it's question worthy of a separate thread to find out?

 

[Evan White]

They issued a Compostela from A Coruña with the San Antonio Missions mileage included.