[Gocamino] Confraternity in the USA

[John Rafferty]

Hola a todos

Greetings from London home of the Confraternity of St James in the United 
Kingdom which next year is 25 years old. The Confraternity currently has 
2000 members, offices and infrastructure to provide support and services to 
pilgrims and those interested in the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. 
Amongst the services which have been developed are: Practical Pilgrim Days 
where around the country they provide a chance for potential prilgrims to 
learn more, a regular bulletin to members, a bookshop and library. They also 
promote research and provide a bursary to young people undertaking research 
into the movement around St James and they also offer help to elderly, frail 
or disabled people who might otherwise ber unable to undertake the 
pilgrimage. A very important and popular function is the publication of 
Pilgrim Guides to the many routes to Santiago.The Confraternity is also well 
known because it runs two Refugios at both Gaucelmo and now Miraz.

The Confraternity operates a very well used website with which many sister 
and brother pigrims in the USA will be familiar with online shopping from 
the bookshop and now an extensive photo library.

As well as being active in the wider network of Confraternities in the 
world, in UK law the CSJ is a Registered Charity which provides a number of 
benefits including tax exemption. It is therefore regulated by the Chairty 
Commission. In its consitution and in the law its membership is 
non-denominational.

Currently its members are of many faiths and none although of course its 
prinicpal objective is to promote the undeniably Christian Pilgrimage to the 
Tomb of  Christ's Apostle St James.

Best wishes for your emerging plans to form a Confraternity.

John

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <blaroli at aol.com>
To: <Gocamino at oakapple.net>; <saintjames at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 07, 2007 2:24 AM
Subject: [Gocamino] Confraternity in the USA


> Hello you all,
> Wow!....I had absolutely no idea that so many of you are enthusiastic 
> about forming a confraternity in the USA.? Like most of you, I do believe 
> that considering the large number of USA Santiago pilgrims it is 
> inevitable that a confraternity or two will be formed here.
> And no, confraternities are not exclusively for Catholics, as indeed, 
> neither is the Camino, and confraternities do not? proselitize, they are 
> merely the web that holds the universitality of the Camino together?.? But 
> the ancient bureaucratic rules and requirements need be complied with, and 
> the process,?as I mentioned in an earlier message, may take years (sigh!).
>
> Two young women, one?from the Archconfraternity in Santiago and the other 
> from the Pilgrims' Office will come to New York City next December; when 
> they are here?I'll attempt to find out whether there is a way to simplify 
> the process. Personally, with Christmas approaching and all, I do not 
> believe that anything can or would be commenced until at least next 
> Spring.?
> Also, the Brooklyn Cathedral of Saint James has invited the head of the 
> Santiago Archdiocese's? Sociology Department to visit, but there is no set 
> date yet. When and if Don JuanJo comes I may learn more about the most 
> expedient way to go about it.
>
> For other news, as? the latest figures posted here show, the number of 
> pilgrims this year has exceeded, by far, that of any other non-Holy Year.? 
> The figures posted were up to August 31st, but the pilgrims in September 
> continued to swell the numbers.
> Also, Finisterra has been officially declared to be a European Patrimony.? 
> I'm not sure what that means exactly, but it seems to be something akin to 
> the rubric of "National Monuments" in the U.S.
> And the latest issue of lottery tickets issued by the Organizacion 
> Nacional de Ciegos de Espanha "ONCE" (National Association of Blind People 
> in Spain, who have the national right to sell and distribute lottery 
> tickets in Spain) contained a picture of?Obradoiro Square and, reportedly, 
> was the best selling issue ever.? It could be that many tickets were sold 
> for their souvenir value since it was the first time that Obradoiro 
> appeared on the tickets.?
>
> Well,... I'm looking forward to the Santiago concert next Tuesday at Saint 
> Bartholomew's Episcopal Church on Park Avenue.? It is really a beautiful 
> church and the music will be all medieval Santiago themes and canticles. 
> Three years ago the Pamplona Cathedral choir gave a concert at a local 
> theatre, Alice Tully Hall, and another at Saint Thomas Episcopal church on 
> Fifth Ave. The Pamplona choir is famous throughout Europe, (as is the 
> Santiago choir).? I went to the St. Thomas?one because I like that church 
> a lot, and I just loved it.
> By the way, Saint Thomas has a lady priest who has walked the Camino twice 
> and gives frequent lectures about it all over the city.
>
> Hugs!
>
> Rosina
>
> ??
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