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Thanks Northern Light.If walking for non-religious or non-spiritual reasons, you can get a Welcome certificate instead of the Compostela.
If you wish, you can have your Compostela marked ‘in Vicare Pro’ for someone who is unable to make a pilgrimage of their own. For example, they are deceased, or too ill, or too handicapped.
It is written in at the bottom as an addition - not as a substitute for the name of the person who actually walked. An example in this blog post: https://zelanti.org/the-voice-of-god/Thanks Northern Light.
It might be a silly question, but with the 'in Vicare Pro' does the other persons name get printed on the Compostela?
The Church of San Francisco in Santiago de Compostela has beautiful certificates for sale.
At the albergue in Huesca on the Camino Catalan (San Juan de la Peña variant) they have a certificate written in Latin on one side and Spanish on the other. A Google Lens translation of part of the Spanish is:
Pilgrims Privilege of Santa Maria de Salas
Know all that We, Jaime, by the grace of God King of Aragon, Mallorca and Valencia, count of Barcelona and Urgel, and lord of Montpelier, receive under our special protection each and every one of the men and women of wherever they come to Santa Marta de Salas, from Huesca, because of pilgrimage, and until they return with everything they carry in their coming, stay and return, so that for any debts or crimes they are not disturbed anywhere of my domains, until they have returned to their homes after such a pilgrimage, I do not know that they were manifest traitors, or locked up or committed during the pilgrimage such a crime that they deserved to be punished.
We send to the gentlemen Stewards, Vicars, Bayles, Pacianos, Zalmedina, Justices, Juries, Judges, Mayors and our subjects, present and coming, that our protection and safeguard are observing and observing all of us in a visible way. Anyone who against this safeguard fentase come, be incurred in our anger and indignation and in the ena of a thousand alfonsinas morabetinos.
Given in Huesca on August 12 of the year of the Serior of 1250
of Jaime by the grace of God King of Aragon Mallorca and Valoncia, Concha de Barcelona and Urgally do
Pilgrims Privilege of Santa Maria de Salas
Know all that We, Jaime, by the grace of God King of Aragon, Mallorca and Valencia, count of Barcelona and Urgel, and lord of Montpelier, receive under our special protection each and every one of the men and women of wherever they come to Santa Marta de Salas, from Huesca, because of pilgrimage, and until they return with everything they carry in their coming, stay and return, so that for any debts or crimes they are not disturbed anywhere of my domains, until they have returned to their homes after such a pilgrimage, I do not know that they were manifest traitors, or locked up or committed during the pilgrimage such a crime that they deserved to be punished.
We send to the gentlemen Stewards, Vicars, Bayles, Pacianos, Zalmedina, Justices, Juries, Judges, Mayors and our subjects, present and coming, that our protection and safeguard are observing and observing all of us in a visible way. Anyone who against this safeguard fentase come, be incurred in our anger and indignation and in the ena of a thousand alfonsinas morabetinos.
Given in Huesca on August 12 of the year of the Serior of 1250
of Jaime by the grace of God King of Aragon Mallorca and Valoncia, Concha de Barcelona and Urgally do
Here is my certificate. It is unsigned and a bit crumpled. The picture is of the side written in Spanish. The other side in Latin looks the same but the Latin text is in an italic font. You also get a small ribbon and a seal that looks like wax. The idea is that you affix these to the certificate when you get home and this helps you protect the paper better on your journey. My ribbon and seal are misplaced but I'm sure I still have them.In my opinion this looks more as a Credencial than a Certificate
Thanks Bradypus, the friend who was going to walk with me this year has had a reoccurrence and the prognosis is not good. So I want to dedicate the Camino to her.It is written in at the bottom as an addition - not as a substitute for the name of the person who actually walked. An example in this blog post: https://zelanti.org/the-voice-of-god/
If you walk the Portuguese route and stop in Padron (26km before Santiago), the tourist office will grant you a Padronia, provided that you show a stamp from one of the churches in town. I went to the church that houses the stone said to have covered the site where the remains of James were found.
In some regions they are oriented the way that you thought, and they are directional symbols. Unfortunately, it's not consistent on the Camino.And the yellow "ribs" or "spokes" were symbolic of the various caminos, all of which ended up in Santiago. So the direction to go was to go toward the big yellow "sun". BUT, alas, I was wrong. They mark that you are on the camino, but are not pointer arrows.
Alas, the opposite may happen. It has already happened within Galicia where fairly new waymarkers have been installed: the "sun" is on the left and the yellow "ribs" or "spokes" point from right to left. The symbol is a logo that was created a long time ago and should always be placed in this way. The confusing array of the logo being placed upwards, downwards and symmetrically mirrored is a result of the ignorance of those who placed the markers over the years - mainly regional and local governments ...In my dream come true world - they would orient all of these, so that they acted like a pointer arrow- follow your spoke to the sun.
Sacriligious? I don't think so. But the idea makes me cringe all the same. There are more than enough unappealing competitive aspects to pilgrimage these days without formalising the hierarchy of "pilgrim cred" with special certificates and Camino loyalty card dealsAnd this idea may be sacriligious, but it might be a cool thing if there was a "special certificate" for those who complete 4 or 5 or (pick a number) of caminos over time. If you accomplished this, it could be "rewarded" with a small discount at all albergues , or something along those lines.
I had heard that you can dedicate your journey to someone else,
I am quite strongly opposed to that. People have all sorts of reasons for walking the various Caminos, but this suggestion would turn it into a competition. I'm not religious at all, but I still appreciate that walking a camino is just a little bit different from just going for a walk. Our modern world is far too dismissive of things that are not materialistic.SNIP
And this idea may be sacriligious, but it might be a cool thing if there was a "special certificate" for those who complete 4 or 5 or (pick a number) of caminos over time. If you accomplished this, it could be "rewarded" with a small discount at all albergues , or something along those lines. Centuries ago, pilgrims would walk one of the caminos from their home to Santiago and back to home. I'm pretty sure it was not a yearly activity. Yet today, with many of us doing this multiple times, it is pretty obvious that the "tourist" element is much more prevalent. With over 300,000 pilgrims making it to Santiago last year, this has become much more than just a pilgrimage to save our souls. It has become a great revenue source for Spain, and they should encourage multiple caminos. mike
I don't see any reason to blindly copy the past just because that was the way it used to be. Things change, sometimes things are improved and sometimes made poorer. I would rather see a living symbol that is adapted by people as they see fit than one which is set in stone and becomes just an archaic curiosity.Alas, the opposite may happen. It has already happened within Galicia where fairly new waymarkers have been installed: the "sun" is on the left and the yellow "ribs" or "spokes" point from right to left. The symbol is a logo that was created a long time ago and should always be placed in this way. The confusing array of the logo being placed upwards, downwards and symmetrically mirrored is a result of the ignorance of those who placed the markers over the years - mainly regional and local governments ...
Oh ... when I said "a long time ago" I meant a few decades ago. The logo showing the stylised yellow shell on a blue background was developed by a graphic designer from Spain in the context of the Camino Frances being declared a European Cultural Route.I would rather see a living symbol that is adapted by people as they see fit than one which is set in stone and becomes just an archaic curiosity.
Yes, Sahagun is at the CF's halfway point and you can get a certificate there but, while the certificate mentions that Sahagun is at the center point, it doesn't explicitly congratulate you for making it halfway through your pilgrimage. I've translated it as:I also obtained a distance certificate and the half way certificate at Sahagun.
I know, but in many ways that is still a long time ago. I love that it's a living tradition, that people take the symbol and make it their own.Oh ... when I said "a long time ago" I meant a few decades ago. The logo showing the stylised yellow shell on a blue background was developed by a graphic designer from Spain in the context of the Camino Frances being declared a European Cultural Route.
We, too, received this certificate in 2014. It was in celebration of the cathedral's 800th anniversary. It made our first Camino a bit more special, but didn't match having our compostelas issued in our wedding anniversary (we waited 2 days to get itI got this special one in 2014.View attachment 69038
The Camino is not a competion .And this idea may be sacriligious, but it might be a cool thing if there was a "special certificate" for those who complete 4 or 5 or (pick a number) of caminos over time. If you accomplished this, it could be "rewarded" with a small discount at all albergues , or something along those lines.
, or is it included on the Portuguese Compostela?
Only one Compostela is issued with the name of the walker in the centre place.Secondly, when one walks on behalf of another, are two compostelas issued or just the one with both names as per the example above
Hi i have two questions relating to Compostelas or certificates......
I am planning to walk the Portuguese route from Lisbon in August, via Fatima. Is there a Compostela or certificate available for walking to Fatima specifically, or is it included on the Portuguese Compostela?
Secondly, when one walks on behalf of another, are two compostelas issued or just the one with both names as per the example above?
Thank you
Until 1993 there was no minimum distance rule to receive a Compostela. At the end of my first Camino I spent 20 minutes or so talking with a priest about why I walked and what the Apostle and his legend meant to me. He barely glanced at the sellos in my Credencial. The obsession with kilometres covered on foot is a recent thing.. But Fatima does not require that you make a trek in order to be recognized as a pilgrim for it is a modern-day (relatively speaking) site, developed well after the time when walking had ceased to be the main mode for conveyance of humans from one place to another.
Until 1993 there was no minimum distance rule to receive a Compostela. At the end of my first Camino I spent 20 minutes or so talking with a priest about why I walked and what the Apostle and his legend meant to me. He barely glanced at the sellos in my Credencial. The obsession with kilometres covered on foot is a recent thing.
Probably the km thing came into place because there was no way the priests could dedicate 20 min to everyone that was arriving anymore...I spent 20 minutes or so talking with a priest about why I walked and what the Apostle and his legend meant to me.
True if you believe that the benefits are direct and spiritual and do not require the mediation of the church authorities. As I do personally. But the cathedral now applies a very specific definition of 'pilgrimage' by restricting the Compostela to those who walk or ride a minimum specified distance on an officially approved route and can prove that with an approved Credencial stamped at least twice per day in the final 100km. It is a cold and mechanistic business.Yes, but that was not my point. Indeed... for all of the history of Santiago those who live in the lee of the church have had its benefits without having to walk there at all.
Probably part of the reason. But read the text and consider what the Compostela actually says. Can you really testify to a person's motives and attitude simply by measuring the distance they have walked?Probably the km thing came into place because there was no way the priests could dedicate 20 min to everyone that was arriving anymore...
Probably part of the reason. But read the text and consider what the Compostela actually says. Can you really testify to a person's motives and attitude simply by measuring the distance they have walked?
True if you believe that the benefits are direct and spiritual and do not require the mediation of the church authorities. As I do personally. But the cathedral now applies a very specific definition of 'pilgrimage' by restricting the Compostela to those who walk or ride a minimum specified distance on an officially approved route and can prove that with an approved Credencial stamped at least twice per day in the final 100km. It is a cold and mechanistic business.
I may not have made myself clear. I was not referring to the situation in past centuries. I was referring specifically to the situation at present in which 'pilgrimage' has been redefined in a very specific form by the cathedral authorities.No, this is inaccurate. Pilgrimage was not required of those who lived near to a powerful Cathedral. They already lived within the realm of the church, and for someone from 13th to 16th C anyway with the fall in 1567 of The Church, there was no such thing as living outside of the mediation of the church.
I may not have made myself clear. I was not referring to the situation in past centuries. I was referring specifically to the situation at present in which 'pilgrimage' has been redefined in a very specific form by the cathedral authorities.
Yes, but that was not my point. Indeed... for all of the history of Santiago those who live in the lee of the church have had its benefits without having to walk there at all.
I guess it depends on what you think of as the benefits of visiting the pilgrimage site. In terms of the indulgence to be granted (partial or plenary, depending on the year), they have nothing to do with with the Compostela or how many km have been walked. In terms of the intercession of St. James or the benefits of being in proximity to his relics, I don't believe that would have much to do with the Compostela or the distance walked, either. From a Church perspective, I think those are probably considered the most important benefits of any visit to Santiago de Compostela.True if you believe that the benefits are direct and spiritual and do not require the mediation of the church authorities. As I do personally. But the cathedral now applies a very specific definition of 'pilgrimage' by restricting the Compostela to those who walk or ride a minimum specified distance on an officially approved route and can prove that with an approved Credencial stamped at least twice per day in the final 100km. It is a cold and mechanistic business.
Hugh, I think it was issued to mark the 800th anniversary of the date St. Francis of Assisi was believed to have walked the Camino rather than the founding of any building.We, too, received this certificate in 2014. It was in celebration of the cathedral's 800th anniversary. It made our first Camino a bit more special, but didn't match having our compostelas issued in our wedding anniversary (we waited 2 days to get it).
I don't disagree. But I was responding to Bradypus who seemed to be saying that the church now limits benefits to those who walk 100 km by their rules and was thus talking about modern times. That's why I wrote "would not be" rather than "would not have been".@David Tallan "It is the personal and spiritual benefits of walking a Camino that would not be available to those who live in the lee of the church (unless they made the effort to walk there) because, it seems to me, that these benefits are a product of the journey itself." is a very modern take on the spiritual benefits.
Going on pilgrimage certainly did provide people with benefits, but mostly in the form of getting away from the travails and ails of their home villages into a system that was obliged to provide hospitality along the way as an encouragement to see the sights (other cathedrals) along the routes. The idea that it is the walking itself that does us good is very contemporary. Those who already lived close the the church in Santiago already benefitted from the wealth (better food, more sociability in markets and festivals, greater social support from the wealthier parish etc. and all of that was believe to emanate from the relic itself... that bestowed its power not only in its reliquary but into the air like an energy.
Staying close to the Saint was, then, far more important to one's health in the medieval mind than was journeying far away only to walk back to what one already had.
For the full narrative see the medical and religious historian Robert Scott's fairly exhaustive book "Miracle Cures" -- subtitle is something like "Saints, Pilgrimage and the Power of Belief." Berkely University Press.
But also the work of the anthropologist Victor Turner on this topic more broadly.
My oh my, I ask what I think is a simple question and the thread takes on a life of its own!!
... before this went off on a tangent way out into left field.
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