Our Pilgrim Passport

Part of the adventure of the Via Francigena (as well as the Camino de Santiago) is getting stamps in your pilgrim passport.  It’s your proof that you walked…and it’s also a wonderful way to interact with people.

One of the differences between Italy and Spain is the number of stamps we’ve gotten in churches and cathedrals – most of the time after attending Mass there. 

Partial photo of John's Passport

The priest will take us back into the sacristy (private area where priests get ready for Mass), rummage around in a drawer and happily give us a stamp…usually with a smile saying “Pelligrini!”.   We'll give him one of our Pope Francis “Year of Mercy” pins. 

We’ve had holy moments, too.  

One priest thought I was giving him the pin to bless, instead of as a gift.  

At the Santa Rosa Monastery, we tried to give a nun a pin after she stamped us. 

We give this pin -- featruing Pope
Francis and the Year of Mercy
-- to people we meet. We have 100 of
them....but sadly, have met few
pilgrims to give them to.  Intstead, we
give them at the churches we attend
and to the hotel folks we meet. 

She waved us off, indicating “Give it to the others…”.  When she saw we had pins for everyone, she smiled and accepted it.  

At one church, the man (not the priest) looked at us – pointed to the stamp from our fancy hotel -- and indicated that’s not how pilgrims travel!  

And most of the time, we don’t.  We stay in small hotels or agritourismo (farms that take in guests). 

This stamps celebrates being 

100 km from Rome...

But every so often, we are in a nice hotel.  Where we can get laundry done.  Be close to the hub of village activity.  Have a bathtub.  Relax for an extra day.  Work with a front desk person who speaks English. 

When we’re done, we’ll post a list of our favorite hotels here – most of them are deep into rural Italy.  We’ve had a chance to experience this beautiful country in a unique way.  

Here are some examples of the lovely stamps we've gotten in Churches: