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It is estimated that the number of pilgrims on the roads compared with those who receive the Compostela is about 5 to 1.
The Sociology department of the Cathedral, headed by Don Juan Jose Cebrian (brother pf Don Genaro, who heads the Pilgrims' office) has estimated the number of pilgrims on the Camino at any one time by using the registration in albergues, the data given when the credential is obtained, and other sources, such as the tourist information offices throughout the Camino.
The vast majority of pilgrims from Spain complete the Camino over four segments, as do a great many Latin Americans who have only two weeks vacation. There are also some pilgrims who do not complete the pilgrimage in a manner that would entitle them to a Compostela because of illness, tiredness or other reasons. And then there are some who do not request, or get a Compostela for one reason or another.
If pilgrims arrive in Santiago when the pilgrims' office is closed, and are unable to get a Compostela and they might then leave that night or early the next morning.
The 5 to 1 estimate has proven steady and reliable over the last ten years or so.
nathanael said:On this subject, when I was in Santiago this summer June 23/09 I stayed in the city for 5 days to kill time before returning to Madrid. Two rude young Frenchmen with dreadlocks were refused the compostela due to not receive two stamps from their 100k onward. They were very angry and therefore very rude..but I believe their rudeness towards us was just their nature sorry for this assumption. I felt sorry for their two dogs who were under nourished and needed a good meal. I was fascinated by the dogs who had shells around their neck and wanted to take a picture of them but the owners were trying to extract money off of us and kept shouting shut up shut up and making signs of wanting money..their English was only the words of shut up, we refused and laughed at them and went our merry way. So yes their might be some truth of not everyone receiving a compostela. yet someone we got to know on the route who shouldn't have received a compostela received one. He took many buses so he didn't have to walk up those steep hills we know this by the fact that we left before him in the morning he never passed us and yet he was there ahead of us.
Nevertheless the route enables one to meet many individuals who struggle and complete the Camino.
ciao
By placing much of the value on the camino itself and not on St James, the journey has become more important than the destination.
I don't think I've ever heard anyone say "I am going to visit the tomb of Saint James?" They always say, "I am going to walk the camino." And so, unlike our medieval pilgrims who probably only ever had one shot at it, we fall in love with walking the caminos and plan our holidays around walking the different routes - sometimes with no intention of reaching Santiago.
I also hear people say over and over again, "its the journey that is important, not the destination. " That statement would have sounded ludicrous to most medieval pilgrims whose only reason for a long, dangerous journey was to reach the shrine in order to earn indulgences for the remission of sins and time spent in purgatory.
On the Santiago Archdiocese website, they say, " The most important thing here is the Goal, Not the Way. Jacobean Pilgrims do not go on pilgrimage for the sake of the Way. Through the Way they do get to the Tomb of Saint James the Great".
I appears that in our modern times The Way has become the destination - not the tomb of Saint James.
Pilgrim's motives for wanting a dated proof of pilgrimage were varied. In the case of those impelled along the Way of St James by the force of law, the reason is patent.
Similarly, those being paid to undertake a 'proxy' pilgrimage on behalf of someone else needed proof that the contract had been fulfilled in order to collect the payment or favour due to them.
Some confraternities demanded proof of having reached Compostela before accepting newly returned pilgrims as members.
Exemption from certain taxes was a privelege afforded by some towns to returning pilgrims on proof of status.
The Compostela .... could prove that the bearer had been there and served as an additional form of safe-conduct on the return journey.
I refused a Compostela in 2007 and 2009 but asked for the other document. My details were still recorded.The small number who are refused a compostela for whatever reason are not recorded.
I had read that in any given year, only 15% of those that embark on the Pilgrimage actually complete it. Or at least that only 15% receive a Compostela.
That seems like a very low figure, so I am curious to know if there is a place that I might get these figures. I have seen in the forum numbers of pilgrims who complete the pilgrimage, but never the percentage as compared to those who started it.
Both my husband I are delighted to have received the much-coveted Compostelas. Sadly, we arrived on the day of the train crash on 24th July, and so would not have known if our names were given out and at which service. But the whole experience, we rode our bikes from Bayonne in France to Santiago, was amazing and we are thinking of doing it again if only because it has burned a loving place in our hearts that refuses to be extinguished.Hmm. The Pilgrimage itself was of the utmost importance to me, and of course the Pilgrimage continues in all sorts of ways now I am home. But receiving the Compostela was also really important to me. Something I think to do with recognition by the Church that I'd done it. And hearing at the Pilgrim Mass the next day that I had arrived the day before. It still makes me really emotional to think about it.
Andy
Good for you, it is an achievement that you can be proud of, and if it encourages someone else to step out and achieve something, not necessarily the Camino, then all the better.We are so proud of our compostelas and credencials we had a frame made to display them - to encourage others.
We picked up our compostelas the day we finished - spent the next day in the hospital trying to get an x-ray for an injured finger - went to Finisterre - then attended the Pilgrim Mass - so no we did not hear our names or countries identified - but that was not the point - it made no difference to us - our focus was on the Mass itself.They don't actually read the names of each pilgrim. It is done at the noon mass of the following day. It is a cumulative description, such as "two pilgrims from the USA who started in Sarria." I don't know if that makes you feel better, that you did not miss a great deal, but the sense of loss on that day must be enormous for those who were in Santiago.
What about this: Camino Gironi + Cami Catala I + Camino Castellano-Aragones + Camino Frances + Ruta del Salvador + Camino Primitivo (names by Mundicamino) = 5 Caminos walked in entire lenght. Can I get 5 Compostellas? I guess not. That's why I thinks it's unfair if a person walk first (let's say) 500kms and last 10kms and can't get Compostella. Or am I missing something?On my pilgrimage last year, I saw that the rule was one stamp/day on the last 100 KM for hikers ; two stamps/day for cyclists. But really, if you're only doing the last 100/150/200 KM that particular year, getting the two stamps daily, whatever your situation, would be a wise precaution ; if you've walked all the way from SJPP or Le Puy or Lourdes or wherever, and have the stamps to show for it, then one stamp/day on the last 100 KM will obviously be sufficient, administratively anyway -- though one can never have too many sellos on one's credencial IMO !!!
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JW explained the question of people not getting their compostelas very clearly -- just to be completely exhaustive, there's a marginally small number of people who can get two compostelas instead of one ; if you walk to Compostela, and then walk to Fisterra and back again to Santiago, perhaps because you're doing the return journey, the second walk into Compostela would entitle you to another compostela certificate, assuming religious/spiritual motivation, as you'll have technically completed the pilgrimage over 100 KM+ a second time.
Hola, Hanne!The rule to get a Compostela is quite clear: As a walking pilgrim you must walk the last 100 km to Santiago de Compostela. It is important to get 2 stamps a day the last 100 km.
Walking Camino del Salvador from León to Oviedo, Camino Finesterre from SdC to Finesterre and/or Camino Muxía from SdC to Muxía (ex. Sdc-Finesterre-Muxía) gives you the opportunity to obtain other diplomas than the Compostela.
You can get them in the finishing Towns: In Finesterre (Public albergue), Muxía (Town Hall) and Oviedo (Salvador Cathedral).
All other caminos connecting to caminos finishing in SdC only gives you the joy of walking!...But isn't that enough?
I had read that in any given year, only 15% of those that embark on the Pilgrimage actually complete it. Or at least that only 15% receive a Compostela.
That seems like a very low figure, so I am curious to know if there is a place that I might get these figures. I have seen in the forum numbers of pilgrims who complete the pilgrimage, but never the percentage as compared to those who started it.
Get two. The Pilgrim Office can be very rules-oriented. You will hear stories of those without two sellos per day after Sarria, but you also will hear stories of those who are declined. If you want the Compostela, follow the rules and get two per day, one from your lodging. They are easy to get!Do you really need two stamps a day to get the compostela once past Sarria as suggested above? Surely one stamp from your Albergue each eve is sufficient. Where would you get the other one each day anyway?
Need to know please as I'm two weeks in already. Thanks
Do you really need two stamps a day to get the compostela once past Sarria as suggested above? Surely one stamp from your Albergue each eve is sufficient. Where would you get the other one each day anyway?
Need to know please as I'm two weeks in already. Thanks
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