The Confraternity of Saint James is a pilgrims' association, educational

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

and book

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

for the ancient and modern-day pilgrim route

Camino de Santiago The Camino de Santiago (, ; ), or the Way of St. James in English, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tra ...

or "way of Saint James" to the city of

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

in Galicia in

northern Spain Spain is a country located in southwestern Europe occupying most (about 82 percent) of the Iberian Peninsula. It also includes a small exclave inside France called Llívia, as well as the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Is ...

. It exists to promote all pilgrim routes to Santiago throughout western Europe as well as support all people undertaking them either on foot, by bike, on horseback or in a wheelchair. It has around 1,300 members around the world, although the vast majority are British, and is the only official association of St James in the United Kingdom. As such, it is the only accredited UK-based distributor of the Pilgrim Passport ( credencial), the official pilgrim document recognised by Santiago Cathedral that proves ones bona fide pilgrim status. By collecting pilgrim stamps on this document, the traveller can access pilgrim accommodation along the Way, as well as qualify for the ancient certificate of completion, the Compostela, provided they have travelled a minimum of the final 100 km - or 200 km if cycling. The charity is based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and publishes books in English for many of the routes on the Way of St. James. It also carries books on the history, spirituality, culture, architecture and musical associations with the Camino in its extensive pilgrim library. The CSJ hold events throughout the year. These include practical seminars to help pilgrims know how to prepare, coffee mornings and wine bar evenings get togethers for pilgrims to compare experiences and join the Camino community in the UK, occasional guided walks around the UK, as well as annual lectures on Camino-related topics. These are often given by qualified academics, owed to the CSJ's relationships with various centres of pilgrim study around the world.

References

External links

The Confraternity of Saint James website

shop

American Pilgrims on the Camino website

Canadian Company of Pilgrims website
Camino de Santiago Educational charities Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom {{charity-stub

See also

References

External links