I recently received my Credencial del Peregrino (Pilgrim passport) in the mail after submitting an online application at American Pilgrims. The credential identifies me as a pilgrim traveling on foot. When I register in the albergues or refugios in which I sleep along the Camino, I must show it to be stamped. To obtain my Compostela certificate, I must present the credential at the Pilgrims' Welcome Office in Santiago with completed stamps and dates. They require that I obtain two stamps per day throughout the final 100 kilometers on foot. It is in that office too that I will receive my final stamp. Since I'm planning to do the Camino in 60 days (give or take), I think it may be a good idea to ask for a second credential at St. Jean-Pied-de-Port in France where I will start.
I love the "Pilgrims Prayer" on the credential. Here's an excerpt: "God... Be their companion on the way, their guide at the crossroads, their strength in weariness, their defense in dangers, their shelter on the path, their shade in the heat, their light in darkness, their comfort in discouragement, and the firmness of their intentions; that through your guidance, they may arrive safely at the end of their journey and, enriched with grace and virtue, may return to their homes filled with salutary and lasting joy." (Click on the Pilgrims Prayer photo below to read the full prayer)
I also love-love-love the "Spirit of the Camino" listed on the credential. Here it is:
- Live in the moment
- Welcome each day - its pleasures and its challenges
- Make others feel welcome
- Share
- Feel the spirit of those who have gone before you
- Imagine those who will follow you
- Appreciate those who walk with you today
Certainly applicable in life, not just on the Camino, if you ask my humble opinion.
(Updated October 27, 2014)
I ended up accumulating 3 books of credencials from my walk from SJPdP to Santiago de Compostela and a smaller one for my walk from Santiago to Finisterre (Fisterra). When I realized that bars, restaurants, churches, and museums along the Camino were also giving out stamps (in addition to the albergues), I started collecting them along the way. The result - a fabulous collection of souvenir stamps of places I'd visited! FYI, a new credencial cost about 2 euros each and you can purchase one at select albergues, pilgrims' offices, or gift/souvenir shops.
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