Understanding Camino Pilgrim Passports & Certificates

This article aims to clarify the difference between the Camino Pilgrim Passports and the various Pilgrim Certificates, including the famous Compostela Certificate. Camino Pilgrim Passports & Certificates

Traditional Passport and Certificate to Santiago de Compostela

Many people know why they want to walk the Camino de Santiago. It may be for spiritual growth, a health challenge, a break from daily life, or a social experience. Whatever your reason for exploring the Camino de Santiago routes, consider documenting your journey with a Camino Pilgrim Passport. Finally, you might also claim one of the Camino certificates to commemorate your experience.

Pilgrim Passport (Credencial del Peregrino)

The most well-known and essential Camino document is the Camino Pilgrim Passport (Credencial del Peregrino). This passport verifies that you have completed the necessary 100km for your Camino Compostela. These official documents testify to your journey.

Collect at least two stamps daily from churches, town halls, or other official establishments on your journey to Santiago. Once in Santiago de Compostela, you must show your stamped Camino Pilgrim Passport at the Pilgrim’s Office to apply for your Camino Compostela certificate and any other Camino pilgrim certificate you might want to receive.

Where can I get my Pilgrim Passport?

You can obtain one before travelling from organisations such as the American Pilgrims on the Camino, Camino Society of Ireland, Australian Friends of the Camino, Confraternities of St. James, authorized Spanish associations, or various shops and churches along the route. In Santiago, collect the necessary stamps for your Compostela certificate. For more information, see the article: Where can I get my Pilgrim Credencial?

Compostela Certificate

The Compostela Certificate is a traditional religious certificate in Latin issued by the Church to pilgrims. It requires walking 100km or cycling (or horseback riding) 200km to Santiago de Compostela.

Initially, pilgrims used the scallop shell as pilgrimage proof, but fraud emerged when shells were bought and sold. In the 13th century, the Church introduced a rigorous system using letters to mark the Compostela’s origin.

The Camino Compostela certificate was a valuable document as pilgrims would travel to Santiago by pilgrimage, often as a penance. By getting a certificate showing they had walked to Santiago, they could return home and show they had paid their penance and repented for their sins.

A roaring trade of forged Compostelas boomed in Santiago in the Middle Ages.

For some, walking to Santiago and getting their Compostela meant they had secured their reference letter or VIP ticket to heaven: the Compostela was considered an important paper, one to show St Peter at the gates of Heaven.

In the 16th century, the Catholic Queen, King Fernando, and Isabel created the Foundation of the Royal Hospital. They started the construction of a pilgrim’s Royal Hospital in Santiago, in the building that hosts the luxurious Hostal dos Reis Católicos Parador hotel today. By showing their Compostela, pilgrims could stay for up to three days. Today, the hotel still provides free meals for three days to 10 pilgrims with their Compostela.

How to get your Compostela Certificate in Santiago

1. Visit the Pilgrim’s Office in Santiago. For more information, Pilgrim’s Office’s official website.
2. Go to the waiting area.
3. Withdraw a ticket with your number.
4. A QR code on the ticket allows you to verify the row’s status in real-time. (Note: in times of great influx, it cannot be guaranteed that you will collect the Compostela on the same day).
5. You can stay in the waiting area until your turn, or you can leave and come back when it’s your turn (it is recommended to go back at least 50 numbers before your one to not miss your turn).

If travelling as part of an organised group, the Pilgrim’s Office also has a special service. The group leader can submit the names of the group by email a few days in advance (a special form from the Pilgrim’s Office must be filled in). Once the group has reached Santiago, the leader can bring the group’s pilgrim passports to the office and receive all the Compostelas for the group.

Camino Certificate of Distance

A Certificate of Distance is also available to pilgrims. This certificate states the starting point and distance walked/cycled by each pilgrim and is available in many different languages. This can be obtained in addition to the Compostela and is priced at €3. While the Certificate of Distance may not get you a fast track to heaven, it will serve as a lovely memento of your trip to Santiago!

Please note: To receive any Camino certificates from the Pilgrim’s Office in Santiago, your finishing point must be Santiago de Compostela.

Other Pilgrim Passports/Credencials

While the Pilgrim Passport obtained during at least the last 100km of a Camino to Santiago is the most popular and well-known, it is not the only one of these Credencials. If you are walking the Via Francigena or even the Camino Finisterre, there are specific Pilgrim Passports for these journeys.

Finisterrana And Muxiana Certificates

In the same way, you can request your Compostela certificate when you finish your Camino de Santiago; you can also ask for other pilgrim certificates if you decide to continue walking or cycling to the towns of Fisterra and Muxía along the Camino Finisterre.

Each town, Fisterra and Muxía, has its pilgrim certificate, Finisterrana and Muxiana. If you are walking the Camino Finisterre in reverse, you must start from Muxia to request your Compostela certificate in Santiago.

Celtic Camino Certificate

The Celtic Camino refers to walking the Camino Inglés from A Coruña, which is only 75km. To qualify for the Compostela certificate, pilgrims must walk an additional 25km on an approved trail in their home country, such as in Ireland or the UK, and collect stamps in their credencial. These trails include the Kerry Camino in Ireland and St Michael’s Way in the UK. After completing these requirements, pilgrims can present their stamps at the Pilgrims Office in Santiago to receive the Celtic Camino Certificate.

Via Francigena Credenziali Passport and Testimonium

Credenziali (Via Francigena Passport)

If you are walking the Via Francigena to Rome, you will also need a Pilgrim Passport known as the Via Francigena Credenziali to request your Pilgrim Testimonium Certificate in the Vatican. This is a certificate you will receive after completing your pilgrimage to Rome.

Testimonium: Via Francigena Pilgrim Certificate

The Testimonium Certificate is awarded to pilgrims who complete the Via Francigena route to Rome. To obtain it, you must have a stamped pilgrim passport and the Credenziali and document your journey. The certificate can be collected at Saint Peter’s Basilica or the San Lorenzo Pilgrims Office in Rome. It recognises the completion of the pilgrimage for religious or cultural reasons, similar to the Compostela for the Camino de Santiago.

If you need more information about the Camino Pilgrim Passports & Certificates, Camino and its routes or would like to book your own Camino de Santiago adventure, please don’t hesitate to contact us.