For the past 28 years, the main custodians of the Camino routes in Spain was the AMIGOS – the Spanish Federation of Friends on the Camino - formed at a congress of national and international Jacobean organisations in Jaca in 1987. [b]
I was told by a member of FICS that the new organization is ‘outside’ the AMIGOS but some members of AMIGOS are also members of FICS. Anybody connected to the Camino whether they are past, present or future pilgrims, walkers, hikers, tourists or tourogrinos, service providers, historians, archaeologists, artists, restorers and so on should be infinitely grateful to the founding members of the AMIGOS for their passion and involvement in all things related to the Camino de Santiago.
There has been a small army of volunteers who work, unseen by most peregrinos, on the preservation of the art, architecture, literature, music and history, and also the trails and paths that lead to Santiago. Many of the same committed people attended the FICS conference so it would seem that the Camino is in good hands!
Our friend Rebekah Scott – well known in Camino circles and who lives on the
Camino in Spain - was asked to be the North American representative on the on the
board of the new action group. She
reported on her blog about those who were at the meeting:
“These were not young
firebrands out to change the world. These were old hands of the trail: Tomas
the Templar of Manjarin, Jesus Jato from Ave Fenix (looking very frail); The
original old bearded dude who walks the trail dressed in a brown robe; The
little saint who runs the bare-bones albergue in Tosantos; Don
Blas, the high-energy priest of Fuenterroble who brought the Via de la Plata to
the fore; Jose Antonio de la Reira, a bagpipe-blowing Gallego who helped paint the
first yellow arrows, and Luis, the TV reporter who broadcast the renewal to the
rest of Spain. They are heavy hitters, these guys. I have a lot of
respect for most of them. “ (http://moratinoslife.blogspot.com/)
In the Manifesto conclusions and proposals on 4 main topics were agreed
upon.
Section 1: Credentials & Compostelas
Section 2: Defense of Camino Heritage, Defining and Way-marking Camino
TrailsSection 3: Tourism and Pilgrimage
Section 4: Hospitality and Welcoming the Pilgrims
Its taken me a couple of weeks to read and digest the Manifesto, which essentially isn't too different from the annual AMIGOS congress reports in that it raises the same concerns about degrading of Camino paths, deterioration and decay of monuments and historic landmarks, and the rising numbers of pilgrims and tourists on the Camino Frances in particular.
In this blog post I comment on the first topic. Posts on the other topics will follow. The comments and views on these posts are mostly mine: the translations are by Google.
SECTION 1: CREDENTIALS AND COMPOSTELAS
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CREDENTIALS
FICS MANIFESTO 2014:
"The
credential is not a personal souvenir it is a passport to the Camino”
Besides being a passport to staying in albergues, many pilgrims who do not stay in albergues also carry a credencial, either to keep as a souvenir of their walk or in order to earn a Compostela or other
certificate when they arrive in Santiago.
According
to Javier Martin (AMIGOS), the modern version of the 'Credencial del
Peregrino' was not connected to the church or the
Compostela, and according to the founding members of AMIGOS it was a 'memento' to the pilgrim's walk.
"The credencial del peregrinos had nothing to do with the cathedral or the church, it was the idea of the congress, of Elias Valina at the congress, for the pilgrims and the albergues, not for the church.”
AMIGOS CONGRESS 1987: "The credencial would serve to identify a pilgrim, and when he has reached Santiago, to be a memento of the sacrifice and effort put into the pilgrimage."
“LA CREDENCIAL. COMO RECUERDO CUANDO LA PEREGRINACION FINALIZA
Los dias y semanas hechos de esfuerzo y sacrifi cio tendrán para el peregrine el recuerdo imborrable de la vivencia de la fe o la tradición. El recuerdo personal e íntimo de su deambular por unas tierras que seguramente no conoció antes y algunos no volverán a recorrer. La credencial, cuando la peregrinación concluya, será el recuerdo tangible de todas esas vivencias."
"THE CREDENTIAL- AS A REMINDER FOR WHEN THE PILGRIMAGE ENDS.
The days and weeks made of effort and sacrifice will provide for the pilgrim the indelible memory of the experience of faith or tradition. The personal memory and intimate of his wandering in a land that certainly did not know before and some will no longer go. The credential, when the pilgrimage concludes, will be the tangible memory of all those experiences."
In 1999 when I was planning to walk the Wainwright's Coast to Coast walk in England, (3 years before I walked the Camino for the first time) I printed a "Coast to Coast passport", similar to a Spanish Credencial, which we had stamped at the B&B's along the way. It is a wonderful memento of that walk - more so than the certificate which we received at the end of it.
In
my opinion the credencial is both a card for pilgrims and a souvenir. Whether
the pilgrim makes use of the albergues or not, many carry it and it is a wonderful memento of the many
places and people who stamp it whilst they walk the Caminos. It
was even described as a 'memento' at the congress in Jaca in 1987.
REBEKAH SCOTT - on her blog:
“But when the pilgrimage started picking up steam again a couple of decades ago, the cathedral came up with a plan meant to filter out the bus-tours and shameless cheaters. They created the 100 kilometer rule. Instead of an identifying letter each pilgrim once carried from their priest or bishop, the cathedral issued its own “credential,” a fold-out booklet issued at the start of the trip to each pilgrim.”
As I've shown, the credencial as we know it, was not a product of the cathedral even though they print and distribute it. So how did it come about?
In the late 1950's and early 1960's five road routes leading tourists and tourist-pilgrims to Santiago were developed closely following what would become the 'Camino de Santiago' roads 30 years later. A road map of these routes for pilgrims and tourists was published for the 1954 Holy Year with information on churches, monuments, hotels and restaurants along the way.
A concertina style credential was issued, with blank squares, so that travelers could obtain a stamp at the places they stopped at along the road including Jaca, Valcarlos, Pamplona, Estella, Logroño, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Burgos, Frómista, Leon, Astorga, Ponferrada and Monastery of Samos.
On arrival in Santiago they could ask for the pilgrim diploma which was funded by the Ministry of Information and Tourism and signed by the Archbishop of Compostela. This was issued in the Holy Years of 1954, 1965, 1971 and 1976. 428 credenciales were issued to both car and walking pilgrims in 1965 : 451 in 1971 and only 240 in 1976.
In the late 1950's and early 1960's five road routes leading tourists and tourist-pilgrims to Santiago were developed closely following what would become the 'Camino de Santiago' roads 30 years later. A road map of these routes for pilgrims and tourists was published for the 1954 Holy Year with information on churches, monuments, hotels and restaurants along the way.
A concertina style credential was issued, with blank squares, so that travelers could obtain a stamp at the places they stopped at along the road including Jaca, Valcarlos, Pamplona, Estella, Logroño, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Burgos, Frómista, Leon, Astorga, Ponferrada and Monastery of Samos.
On arrival in Santiago they could ask for the pilgrim diploma which was funded by the Ministry of Information and Tourism and signed by the Archbishop of Compostela. This was issued in the Holy Years of 1954, 1965, 1971 and 1976. 428 credenciales were issued to both car and walking pilgrims in 1965 : 451 in 1971 and only 240 in 1976.
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amaWalker BlogSpot - November 2013:
In 1963, Antonio Roa Irisarri, Jaime Eguaras Echávarri and José María Jimeno Jurío, members of the newly formed association of "Los Amigos de Camino de Santiago" in Estella, made a pilgrimage to Santiago dressed in Capuchin habits leading a mule with a wagon.
They designed a Pilgrim's Credential (probably based on the earlier Holy Years credencial) which was approved and blessed by Cardinal-Archbishop of Santiago Archbishop Fernando Quiroga Palacios. The cover design of this credencial with a walking cane, gourd and scallop shell was adopted at the first AMIGOS conference held in Jaca in 1987.
AMIGOS FOUNDING CONFERENCE 1987:
The decision was taken to make the credencial
available to all organsiations and nations for disbursement to anyone wanting
to make the pilgrimage.
(we propose to this Congress that credentials are not issued only in Roncesvalles or
Jaca, but they
are held by all Associations of Friends of the Camino de Santiago extended by
Spain and other nations for
delivery to those who want to
make the pilgrimage. We think
that this would be a good reason for the credentials to be spread more extensively.)
By the year 2000 when dozens of people and tour operators were designing their own credenciales, which were being presented to the Pilgrim Office for a Compostela, the Archdiocese stepped in.
14 September 2000 - at a meeting of the Santiago Archdiocese, the Archconfraternity, and the Federation of Friends of Santiago Associations, an accord was reached regarding future Pilgrimage-related measures. Because of the large growth in pilgrim numbers and the increase in commercial credentials, the need for one uniform pilgrim’s credential was recognized, and agreed upon. A message was sent from the Pilgrim's Office:
"Commencing on January 1, 2009, the Pilgrims’ Office will only accept the credential issued by the Santiago Cathedral, which has a space for the seal of the authorized institution, church or Santiago Friends’ Association that issued it. Friends Associations that are not part of the Federation of Associations that may wish to issue credentials must contact its parish to obtain the information that must be imparted to those who wish to make the pilgrimage. Through their parish they may obtain a sufficient number of blank credential forms.
For the purposes of granting the Compostela at the Pilgrims’ Office only the credential issued by the Cathedral, or by those that are issued by Friends of Santiago Associations that clearly contain information about the religious character of the Santiago pilgrimage, will be accepted.”
For the purposes of granting the Compostela at the Pilgrims’ Office only the credential issued by the Cathedral, or by those that are issued by Friends of Santiago Associations that clearly contain information about the religious character of the Santiago pilgrimage, will be accepted.”
THE COMPOSTELA
FICS MANIFESTO 2014:
"It is clear that the final 100 kilometer hike required by the See
of St. James to obtain the Compostela document, abetted by the Autonomous
Community of Galicia, is the principal cause of the overcrowding, devaluation,
vulgarity and confusion that reigns in these stretches of the Jacobean trails. Disingenuous
promotions identifying only these last (Galician) kilometers as “The Camino de
Santiago” means that now more than 35% of pilgrims walk the least number of
kilometers required, while the thousands of pilgrims who have come much longer
distances are disenchanted and disheartened when given the same
recognition."
Ah ..... la Compostela! The certificate that has, in the modern era of the Camino, resulted in anxiety, desperation, tears and duplicity! What a pity it was ever revived. Its had a stop-start history from the 14th century and perhaps it would've been better if it was allowed to rest following its centuries hiatus from the 16th century.
Año Santo: 1993
The only reason that I have been able to find for the 100 km requirement, which was imposed by the church for the earning a Compostela (not by Galician tourism), was to ensure ".. effort and sacrifice in expiation of sins.." (El esfuerzo y sacrificio en expiación de los pecados...")
Año Santo: 1993
The only reason that I have been able to find for the 100 km requirement, which was imposed by the church for the earning a Compostela (not by Galician tourism), was to ensure ".. effort and sacrifice in expiation of sins.." (El esfuerzo y sacrificio en expiación de los pecados...")
"I would never have thought that such a storm would rise from Rome over one simple scrap of paper..." (Martin Luther)
Perhaps the church should have stuck to handing out indulgences to all Catholic pilgrims and offering a certificate of welcome to all other pilgrims, tourists and tourist-pilgrims - as they now give to any pilgrim that visits Jerusalem.
Or this one offered by the Franciscans
FRANCISCAN CUSTODY OF THE HOLY LAND – PILGRIMS’ CERTIFICATE
“If I forget you Jerusalem, let my right hand wither.....” (Ps. 136:5)
This quotation is a preface to the following declaration:
In the name of God. Amen
To whomsoever this letter is consigned, we attest that:
(here the pilgrim’s name is inserted)
as happily reached Jerusalem and devotedly visited the Holy Places.
(date and signature)
“If I forget you Jerusalem, let my right hand wither.....” (Ps. 136:5)
This quotation is a preface to the following declaration:
In the name of God. Amen
To whomsoever this letter is consigned, we attest that:
(here the pilgrim’s name is inserted)
as happily reached Jerusalem and devotedly visited the Holy Places.
(date and signature)
I don't think we can lay the blame at the Galician tourist board. Not all the Camino walks in Galicia start in Sarria (although that is the most popular and the one that is being alluded to by the Manifesto). Some trails in Galicia are well over 100km long and all seem to be advertised equally.
Whilst the reanimation of the 'walking pilgrim' to Santiago is accredited to Don Elias Valiña Sampedro of O Cebreiro parish, the first push for establishing a Spanish Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela must be accredited to Don Manuel Fraga who was Minister of Tourism and the first promoter of the Jacobean pilgrimage during the 1965 Holy Year.
PETER ROBINS:
“When the cathedral authorities
introduced the Compostela the criterion for gaining one was that you have to
walk a minimum distance, the reasoning being that pilgrimage should involve
some physical exertion. The intention is no doubt good, but it has led to the
idea that pilgrimage involves some sort of long walk. This idea is however
unique to Compostela, and in reality, pilgrimage has nothing to do with long
walks - few of the many thousands of pilgrims to, say, Guadelupe or Montserrat,
Lourdes or Fátima walk there.
What's more,
the minimum distance is completely arbitrary, and means that most Galicians do
not qualify if they start from their front door. Galicians are the largest
component of those claiming a compostela, but if they want one they must start
somewhere that is more than the minimum distance from Santiago Galicia ,
so it seems logical to assume that many of these are Galicians from elsewhere
in Galicia
The Compostela - amaWalker blog - November 2013:
The 'La Autentica' (as it was first called) was originally an 18" X 20" parchment, hand-written in Latin with a small wooden Santiago pilgrim attached to its upper left corner. A requirement for earning this document was confession and communion (but this requirement seems to have been stopped from the 18th century). The oldest copy available is dated 1321 and can be found in the archives of the Pas-de-Calais in northern France.
When the name changed to the 'Compostelana' during the transition between the handwritten document and the advent of printing (which only reached Galicia in 17th century), there were two documents issued - one handwritten, carrying a 'Bula' or seal, and a printed one.
After the decline in pilgrimages from the 15th century, it seems that the issue of a certificate stopped for a few centuries, was revived in the 18th century and then stopped again at the end of the 19th century.
In the early 20th century, Cardinal José María Martín Herrera encouraged the return of organized pilgrim groups to Santiago. A medal replaced the Compostela in Holy Years (which saved printing costs and earned them some money). These were only issued in the Holy Years of 1909, 1915, 1920 and 1926.
When the three members of the "Los Amigos de Camino de Santiago" in Estella made their pilgrimage to Santiago they were warmly received and were issued with the new Compostelana certificates. The wording was different from the previous certificates:
When the three members of the "Los Amigos de Camino de Santiago" in Estella made their pilgrimage to Santiago they were warmly received and were issued with the new Compostelana certificates. The wording was different from the previous certificates:
"Certifying pilgrims will be true pilgrims, not thugs or homeless" received wide acceptance in the Hospital of Reyes Católicos.
Some stats claim that in 1974 only 6 Compostelas were issued. Records prior to the 1970's were lost.
Information on credentials and Compostelas from the website of Fernando Lalanda - with permission.
http://fernandolalanda.blogspot.com/2011/12/sin-titulo-2.html and - The 'Historia-Descripción Arqueológica de la basílica Compostelana , published in 1870,
