The Pilgrim’s Credential is the passport that each traveller must get stamped at different milestones in order to demonstrate, on his arrival in Compostela, that he has traveled the Route of St. James.
Formerly this passport gave the pilgrims rights and safeguards on their long and dangerous route to Santiago. Nowadays there is a single Credential approved by the Cathedral of Santiago and distributed by the Jacobean associations, parishes and other entities linked to the Route.
In the Credential the passage is registered by the different towns and towns of the Way. It is customary to ask for the stamp in churches, pilgrim hostels or town halls, but also in other points such as coffee shops, pharmacies, post offices, etc.
Those who use the network of hostels, public or private, demonstrate their condition as pilgrims (and therefore their right to use the hostels) through the Credential.
Once in Santiago, the stamped credential is essential to request the Compostela, the document issued by the Cathedral of Santiago that certifies having made the pilgrimage.
The Organization will provide the Credential to the participants of Alfas en Camino who wish to do so. They can also obtain it in the Friends of the Camino de Santiago associations at their places of origin, or in their parish.