Compostela: Spanish v Latin

[Paul Newfield]

Perhaps it is important to note that the Compostella is not a so much souvenier, but rather a certified attestation to the completion of the pilgrimage under the established guidelines.  It uses the words "pietatis causa devote..", which I suspect are the significant portion of the formula.  The Compostella is not awarded by the tourist bureau, but by the "Capitulum".  If the church administration is certifying the completion of the pilgrimage, then it will certify to the facts, and not otherwise.

The word "religous" has been used in this ongoing discussion as the qualifying reason for granting the Compostella.  I seem to recall that "spiritual" reasons qualify, and I believe that was one of the choices that you can make when filling out the form (please correct me if I am wrong).  It is hard for me to imagine someone walking the camino and not having, at least on some portion of the journey, a strong sense of its spirituality. One of the things I was constantly aware of as I walked was the millions and millions of foot steps that preceeded my own footprints, and I was fortified by the knowledge that with each step that I took, I left something of myself for those who followed.  That whole experience is embodied and exemplified and concentrated at the Jesse Tree, in those little finger holes where our fingers reached in and touched those of the past. 

Paul Newfield    <pcn01awebdsi.com>
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