New to the list: Some Queries

[Gene Silva]

Concerning a recommendation letter, Sally wrote:

   .....How important is it, though I feel I want to have one anyway.  I
have great respect for a priest who has become a friend of mine over the
years and I would really like to ask him for the recommendation letter.  Of
what should it consist?
Any suggestions from anyone?


Sally:

A "recommendation letter" is not required either to obtain a pilgrim
passport or to receive the compostela. It can be useful (but again not
required) to demonstrate that the motive for pilgrimage was religious or
spiritual. If you want to have your priest friend write one for you and it
is presented to the clerk in Santiago who issues your compostela, she will
stamp it as "evidence" that the journey took you there. Recommendation
letters vary in content but are essentially letters of introduction in the
sense that they indentify the writer and then go on to describe the bearer.
They are needed for certain kinds of Roman Catholic pilgrimages and tend to
be written by church leaders such as Bishops, although there is nothing
wrong with presenting one drafted by a priest such as your good friend. I
could send you a couple of examples but he won't need them to write his own.

Gene Silva
ejsilvaaswbell.net