Credential
All along the Way, the credential is an indispensable part of the experience. This hallmark of the pilgrim acts as a passport and is stamped at each stage. As early as the Middle Ages, people who made the pilgrimage to Santiago stamped a document, which served as a safe-conduct.
If you are going to walk the English Way, we will provide you with the credential free of charge in the Tourism Offices of A Coruña. Likewise, for any other Way of Saint James, you can request it at the Pilgrim's Assistance Office. The credential can be stamped at the Tourism Offices. Another option is to get a stamp in front of the Church of Santiago, in the heart of the Old Town. This is where the first stamp of the pilgrim's credential is traditionally stamped in A Coruña, as it is an obligatory stop on the English Way.
Nowadays, this document is used to access the hostels and to apply for the Compostela. You can get the Compostela at the end of the Pilgrim's Way at the International Pilgrim's Welcome Centre, or also at the associations of friends of the Way of Saint James that are spread throughout the world.
Compostela
To get the Compostela, it is necessary to have covered 100 kilometres on foot or on horseback, 200 kilometres by bicycle or to have sailed 100 nautical miles in addition to the route on foot from O Monte do Gozo. Another condition to receive the Compostela it is to follow the route in a geographically continuous manner, without skipping any stage.
Another option, since the route of the English Way is 73 kilometres, is to do part of the Way of Saint James in your country or place of origin, added to the Way from A Coruña to Santiago de Compostela, to complete the 100 km necessary to receive the Compostela. Therefore, this will only apply to European citizens who have Jacobean routes in their country.
If the pilgrim is a resident of A Coruña, on arrival in Santiago, they must prove in some way that they reside in A Coruña (an ID card would suffice). In addition, the council of canons recommends visiting, devotionis causa, the Jacobean sites mentioned below (it is not necessary to certify it): Church of Santiago), Tower of Hercules, O Parrote Gate, Gate of the old Hospital of San Andrés, Crucero de San Andrés, Church of San Francisco de Asís, Convent of Santo Domingo, Convent of Santa Bárbara, Calle de Santiago and Church of San Nicolás.
