Why 100km for compostela

[Bedspring]

I belive to get the compostela one needs to have walked the last 100km and got two stamps per day.
When was this rule introduced and was it controversial?
Also, if someone has walked from St Jean or Puy or Paris, would they be refused a compostela if they only had one stamp on one of the last days?

 

[OzAnnie]

Hi @Bedspring
There are many threads on the forum which cover your questions.

For some info I’ve attached a recent thread (march2024) wherein many of our forum members have contributed their thoughts and insights (historical & general ) etc etc.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/time-for-more-compostela-type-certificates.85585/#post-1234043

And a more recent thread this week, (still in progress ) about qualifying ( 100k) Compostela into Santiago from Finisterre/Muxia.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/do-some-people-not-get-stamps.87403/#post-1265822

 

[Bradypus]

There was no 100km minimum rule at the time of my first Camino in 1990. I believe the rule was introduced in time for the 1993 Holy Year which was heavily promoted by the Xunta. The rule requiring two stamps per day is a later addition. Volunteers in the pilgrim office have some discretion in counting sellos and issuing Compostelas and people who have walked long distances do sometimes report receiving one with fewer than two stamps per day in the final 100km stage. But if someone intends to ask for a Compostela it seems unwise to disregard the pilgrim office's rules when sellos are so readily available anyway.

 

[trecile]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[dick bird]

One might as well ask why the chapter of Santiago cathedral issue Compostelas at all.

 

[MickMac]

I belive to get the compostella one needs to have walked the last 100km and got two stamps per day.
When was this rule introduced and was it controversial?
Also, if someone has walked from St Jean or Puy or Paris, would they be refused a compostella if they only had one stamp on one of the last days?

Why are you asking that's the rule as it stands, is there a point your making or is it just curiosity? its really not that big of a deal but interesting question.

 

[Tincatinker]

, would they be refused a compostela if they only had one stamp on one of the last days?

That is an absolute possibility. The requirement for a compo-wotsit is two stamps a day for the 100km into Santiago. Where you started; how many mountains you climbed; how many menu purgatorio you have consumed; whether you believe in any of the available Gods or none: these matter not. Collecting 10-12 stamps (depending on your speed-over-ground”) on your final romp to the Pilgrims’ Office is the determinator. Nothing else matters

 

[C clearly]

When was this rule introduced and was it controversial?

@OzAnnie has linked some good threads. I have put a tag "credencial/sellos/compostela" under the title of the thread. If you click on it, you can browse to your heart's content.

 

[Bedspring]

Hi @Bedspring
There are many threads on the forum which cover your questions.

For some info I’ve attached a recent thread (march2024) wherein many of our forum members have contributed their thoughts and insights (historical & general ) etc etc.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/time-for-more-compostela-type-certificates.85585/#post-1234043

And a more recent thread this week, (still in progress ) about qualifying ( 100k) Compostela into Santiago from Finisterre/Muxia.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/do-some-people-not-get-stamps.87403/#post-1265822

That's helpful, I will read through thank you.

 

[Bedspring]

@OzAnnie has linked some good threads. I have put a tag "credencial/sellos/compostella" under the title of the thread. If you click on it, you can browse to your heart's content.

Thank you.

 

[t2andreo]

There was no 100km minimum rule at the time of my first Camino in 1990. I believe the rule was introduced in time for the 1993 Holy Year which was heavily promoted by the Xunta. The rule requiring two stamps per day is a later addition. Volunteers in the pilgrim office have some discretion in counting sellos and issuing Compostelas and people who have walked long distances do sometimes report receiving one with fewer than two stamps per day in the final 100km stage. But if someone intends to ask for a Compostela it seems unwise to disregard the pilgrim office's rules when sellos are so readily available anyway.

When possible, the Pilgrim Office staff actually look for reasons to approve Compostelas. They get no pleasure in denying them. But, the rules are the rules. Otherwise, they might as well sell certificates at self-service terminals all over town.

Also, there is a BIG difference between being a pilgrim, and making a pilgrimage.

You can travel to Santiago by plane, bus, ship or car, visit the Cathedral to venerate the remains of the Apostle and be considered a pilgrim.

In a Holy Year, Catholics can even qualify for the spiritual Plenary Indulgence conferred under Papal Authority for completing certain specified religious activities or rites. You do not have to have walked a Camino to do any of this.

HOWEVER, if you seek the formal Compostela certificate, issued by the Cathedral at it's Pilgrim Office, you MUST comply with the rules they set out for obtaining one. This includes the requirements to:

1. Walk at least the FINAL 100 km of any APPROVED Camino route, into Santiago.
2. Present a proper credencial document, containing the required number of stamps (sellos) that specify the route you followed, the dates involved, and that you did indeed walk at least the final 100 km, ending at the Cathedral in Santiago. If you travel via bicycle, the distance is extended to 200 km.
3. The purpose must be to arrive at the crypt of the Apostle Saint James, to venerate his relics. If you did this for vacation or tourist purposes, your intention is secula,r and you do NOT qualify for hte Compostela.

Hope this helps,

Tom

 

[lt56ny]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Forgive me for being a doofus but what does that mean. Oh but as I write this a small candle went off in my head. I think it is someone who doesn't know something with their hands up. Am I right

 

[lt56ny]

I belive to get the compostela one needs to have walked the last 100km and got two stamps per day.
When was this rule introduced and was it controversial?
Also, if someone has walked from St Jean or Puy or Paris, would they be refused a compostela if they only had one stamp on one of the last days?

Two things. Now you have a good explanation of the rules. Secondly just get two from Sarria or wherever you are coming into Santiago. If you want the Compostela, make it easy on yourself and get two stamps. The sellos are everywhere. Buen Camino

 

[trecile]

Forgive me for being a doofus but what does that mean. Oh but as I write this a small candle went off in my head. I think it is someone who doesn't know something with their hands up. Am I right

Yes, that's it.

 

[trecile]

Two things. Now you have a good explanation of the rules. Secondly just get two from Sarria or wherever you are coming into Santiago. If you want the Compostela, make it easy on yourself and get two stamps. The sellos are everywhere. Buen Camino

And make it easy on the volunteers at the pilgrim office. It's much easier for them if they don't need to make a judgement call.

 

[LTfit]

I wasn't going to contribute as this topic has been battered to death but I do want to mention that I almost did not receive a Compostela after my first Camino Francés from SJPDP July 2010 because I didn't have enough total stamps during the last 100 km from Sarria although I did get 2 stamps a day. Why? Because I walked two stages a day so I obviously had less stamps than most pilgrims. In their eyes I should have had 4 stamps a day!

In addition, the person on duty didn't believe that I had walked from SJPDP in 20 days. I responded "do you want to look at my pictures? How about my feet? . After much ado about nothing I finally did get a Compostela.

Just saying. There are rules but the volunteer behind the desk may interpret them differently.

 

[Bradypus]

In addition, the person on duty didn't believe that I had walked from SJPDP in 20 days.

I have seen posts online over the years from people who walked the final 100km in two or three days and then encountered similar problems at the pilgrim office. For a pilgrimage where walking is considered so integral to the whole business it is surprising that those of us who actively enjoy walking long days meet with such suspicion. Not everyone on a pilgrimage route believes that walking is best taken in homeopathic doses....

 

[t2andreo]

And make it easy on the volunteers at the pilgrim office. It's much easier for them if they don't need to make a judgement call.

THANK YOU!

 

[Kathor1]

There was no 100km minimum rule at the time of my first Camino in 1990. I believe the rule was introduced in time for the 1993 Holy Year which was heavily promoted by the Xunta.

@Bradypus, are you sure of that? I am asking for a friend, of course . You know, or may remember, that I am aware of some of the history of the 100-km-Camino and its Compostela, and I believe it was even me who posted a screenshot of the "Carta de la Oficina de Peregrinaciones" that was sent to the parishes in July of the Holy Year 1999 to urge them to inform their parishioners of the 100 km minimum as one of the conditions for receiving a Compostela.

The casual observer will know by now that there is a certain lack of transparency between what is policy and what is officially communicated to the public about policy. I happened to come across the protocol of the famous Jacobean Congress in Jaca in 1987, see link:

https://www.jacajacobea.com/pdf/Actas_Congreso_Jacobeo_1987.pdf

Starting on page 104, one can read a contribution by Jaime García Rodríguez, Secretario Capitular of the Cathedral of Santiago. The title is La peregrinación en 1987, Vista desde la Catedral de Santiago de Compostela. There are some statistical data included for the years 1987, 1986 and 1985. The 1987 data concern the numbers of Compostelas for the year up to Sunday 20 September: some 2400 Compostelas in total, by nationality, by Spanish region, by professional status. Then it says [translated]:

Of these [2.400+] pilgrims, 1.666 pilgrims have made the journey on foot - at least 100 kilometres - and by bicycle 748 pilgrims. All these data are insignificant in relation to the number of those who visit the Cathedral and pray there before the Lord at the Tomb of the Apostle. The big question to ask ourselves is this: how can we ensure that each visitor comes as close as possible to the attitudes of a pilgrim.​

​

I thought it was worth sharing, both because of this early mention of 100 km for pilgrims on foot and for the explicitly stated view that all who come to pray are pilgrims, whether on foot, by bicycle or by any other means, and all should have attitudes that come as close as possible to the attitudes of a pilgrim. At least that is what I read in this view from a representative of the Cathedral in 1987. The high percentage of cyclists is also remarkable.

 

[Roland49]

Also, if someone has walked from St Jean or Puy or Paris, would they be refused a compostela if they only had one stamp on one of the last days?

Rules apply and for Pilgrims are common knowledge. I don't think, if you miss a single stamp, that there will be a dispute, if all other stamps show your effort.

But better ask: why not 100km? Why not 200km or 300km?

Out of my personal opinion: ~100km to Tui, ~100km to Sarria on the frances (cross of highways and traintracks, very good reachable). I don't think that the initiators of that rule had all the Caminos in mind.
But that's just my very personal opinion!

 

[Bradypus]

@Bradypus, are you sure of that? I am asking for a friend, of course .

There was no mention of any 100km minimum distance in the Confraternity of St James guide which I carried on my first Camino - which would have been a very strange omission. No one I met along the way or on arrival in Santiago mentioned any such rule either. And in a thread discussing a proposed increase to 300km a long piece by Anton Pombo is quoted which mentions the introduction of the 100km rule in association with the 1993 Holy Year. While my own memory is increasingly unreliable and I am quite happy to accept that I may be mistaken I would tend to defer to Anton Pombo on matters to do with the history of the Camino unless I see conclusive proof otherwise.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/fics-forum-why-change-the-100-km-rule-to-300-km.39220/

Edit: Perhaps the 100km mentioned in the 1987 Jaca document is simply a way of defining what should be considered a journey "by foot" for discussion purposes rather than stipulating a rule?

 

[Kathor1]

100km

I was simply sharing a bit of info that I found interesting. Who is to be believed as a more trusty source than another and how bits of information found here and there on the internet are put together and interpreted - I am staying out of it.

 

[t2andreo]

Have explained this previously. There is a clear differentiation between BEING a pilgrim, MAKING a pilgrimage, and eligibility to receive a Compostela, issued by the Cathedral authorities.

Let me try this again.

Everyone who appears at the Cathedral to pray, and to venerate (honor) the remains of the Apostle Saint James is considered a pilgrim. The journey to the Cathedral - WHATEVER means you use to get there - is considered a pilgrimage. If you do not meet the requirements to obtain a Compostela, you can obtain a Certificate of Visitation to acknowledge your visit to the Cathedral, crypt, and relics - from the Pilgrim Office.

Walking (and cycling) pilgrims who take the added time, and endure the extra effort, to walk or cycle from points distant, with a religious or at least a spiritual mindset or point of reference, to the Cathedral, may be eligible for a special welcome and blessing issued by the Cathedral authorities - the Compostela. Not everyone is eligible.

Because the Compostela is a religious document issued by the Cathedral, logically, only they can set the eligibility rules. The Compostela has been issued, in one form or another, for more than 1,000 years. However, the 100 (walking) / 200 km (cycling) distance requirements we enacted some decades ago to sort the "tourigrinos" (those arriving by easier modern means - as a tourist might) - from those accomplishing the added effort of walking or cycling their pilgrimage to arrive at the Cathedral.

The 100 km (walking) and 200 km (cycling) thresholds for Compostela eligibility we set for reasons that were reasonable to the Cathedral authorities at that time. Again, as it is their Camino de Santiago, they get to determine who is eligible for what. This is unilateral and not subject to secular oversight. From time to time, there are discussions to INCREASE these thresholds. But, I am not going there.

Setting the standards of PROOF of having accomplished said pilgrimage and arriving at the Cathedral as a pilgrim is within the SOLE PURVIEW of the Cathedral authorities. Hence, we have the system of credencial documents; booklets and sellos (stamps). Arriving walking or cycling pilgrims must also certify that they made the journey for religious or spiritual purposes to be eligible for a Compostela - as opposed to a Certificate of Welcome

The Cathedral authorities ALONE, set the requirements for eligibility for issuing the Compostela certificate. It is their benefit to bestow, according to the rules they promulgate.

Simply stated, this is a religious welcome, blessing and acknowledgment of the effort and hardship a walking pilgrim must endure to arrive at the Cathedral to venerate the remains of the Apostle Saint James (Santiago), and other relics.

To summarize:

1. If you rode a bus, taxi, car, airplane, ship, boat, etc. to arrive at Santiago, with a religious or spiritual frame of mind - you are eligible for the religiously-based Certificate of Visitation.
2. If you arrived at Santiago without a religious or spiritual frame of mind - regardless of the means of transport - you are eligible for the non-religiously based Certificate of Welcome.
3. If you walked, or rode a horse, or a self-propelled bicycle, boat, etc. at least the minimum distances required in each scenario by the Cathedral authorities, AND had a religious spiritual frame of mind and purpose, AND provided the documentary evidence in support of your claim, you MAY be eligible for a religiously based Compostela. This is explained in the Pilgrim Credencial booklet. Yes, it may be in Spanish. The Cathedral is in SPAIN after all. Use an online translator to sort it out if this is still too confusing.

Only the Cathedral authorities have the authority to decide what sort of acknowledgement to issue to any particular arriving pilgrim - according to the rules they prescribe.

It is not for us to debate, question or challenge these rules. If you comply with their rules, you may obtain their certificates of Visitation, Welcome, or the Compostela. if you do not comply, you do not have the standing to challenge the rules set forth by the Cathedral authorities. This is what it always boils down to.

All of the above is based on my experience as a pilgrim office volunteer and veteran pilgrim since 2013. However, personal circumstances beyond my control have precluded me traveling to Spain in the past two years. I last volunteered in 2022.

So, if something changed, kindly let me know. I am the first to acknowledge that I do not know everything, all the time, about everything.

Hope this helps.

Tom

 

[Jeff Crawley]

I certainly issued compostelas to pilgrims who had fewer than two sellos a day over the final 100kms but then I'm not a heartless sod who would deny one to somebody who has obviously tramped 800km across Spain and has documentary evidence to prove it.
However the smartly dressed gentleman who had travelled from Sarria to SdC in ONE day and had 8 sellos to prove his Camino didn't get one.

 

[akane81]

I finished my camino from Sarria to Santiago (about 110km) less than two weeks ago. I didnt bother going to the pilgrim's office to get my Compostela at that point of time as that was not my priority in completing the camino. On top of that, Caminofacil messed up my luggage transfer on the last day and I had to wait for my backpack to arrive. By the time I washed up, the office has closed.

The next morning, I had to leave Santiago by train around 1030am so I thought it would be too much of a rush to go to the office to get my Compostela. So yeah, I still have my Pilgrim Credencial with more than 10 sellos with me, but no Compostela.

I'm now eagerly planning to return to the camino again next year, however the question is: if I don't have enough days/time to walk the last 100km again, can I use the old credencial from this year to get my compostela?

 

[trecile]

can I use the old credencial from this year to get my compostela?

Yes. As far as I know, there's no time limit for requesting a Compostela.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I belive to get the compostela one needs to have walked the last 100km and got two stamps per day.
When was this rule introduced and was it controversial?

The rule was and is purposed to limit the number of qualifying pilgrims to some "reasonable" number, though truth is that our numbers have increased so much that it's hundreds of thousands every year anyway -- but bear in mind that without this condition, the number would probably be in the millions, as the great majority of pilgrims to Santiago are not foot pilgrims.

There is a certificate that any and every pilgrim can get, for a small fee, next to the Cathedral, certifying one's visit there. This is a good option for those Catholic (or other Christian) pilgrims who care more about the pilgrimage than about the hiking.