The Pilgrim Prayer
Guardian of my soul,
guide me on my way this day.
Keep me safe from harm.
Deepen my relationship with you,
your Earth, and all your family.
Strengthen your love within me
that I may be a presence of your peace
in our world.
Amen
- Tom Pfeffer and Joyce Rupp
Reference
Joyce Rupp Walk in a Relaxed Manner: Life Lessons from the Camino
You may to want to use this prayer on your journey.
I began the via Francigena on Friday 23 May 2008 from my home in north London and walked to Trafalgar Square to link with St Martin-in-the-Fields’ annual pilgrimage to Canterbury cathedral, and continued with my companions to Dover and crossed the English Channel by ferry to Calais. The journey ultimately crossed France, Switzerland to arrive at the Great Saint Bernard pass and crossed into Italy to continue through Aosta to finish on Friday 22 August 2010 at the Basilica of St Peter.
This amazing journey followed more or less directly in the footsteps of Sigeric the Serious Archbishop of Canterbury (989-994) who went to Rome in 989 to receive his cope and pallium (a circular band of white wool with pendant, worn by archbishops) from the hands of the Pope, as was customary for that period. Sigeric on his way home recorded the places he passed through identifying them as 'submansiones'. The manuscript of that journey is kept in the British Library and became the focus for academic research and the re-creation of this modern-day pilgrimage route that became known as the via Francigena. The Archbishop's description of the route proved accurate although the 10th century names differed in many instances from their modern ones.
Reference
Babette Gallard (2010) Lightfoot Companion to the Via Francigena. Pilgrimage Publications
If you're a pilgrim or for that matter a budding one or have an interest in pilgrimage and reside in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia or thereabouts you may be interested in an informal group that gathers on the 4th Friday of each month to dine in a restaurant. The central Melbourne location changes each month.
Contact: Garis Alexander <garis.alexander*gmail.com> (replace * with @)
I would suggest the following resources:
Begin with the venerable Confraternity of Saint James. Take a look at my websites: Pilgrimage, Retirement, Immigration and other Odd Ideas; Walking the Cami de Llevant: a Spanish Coast to Coast; and Confraternity of Pilgrims to Jerusalem.
Google and Bing search will produce excellent results.
Google search tip: Add 'at' (sans quotes) to your Google search for site specific results. Whereas, I use Mozilla Firefox 3.6.8 with UrlbarExt 1.6.1 which extends the Location Bar with a set of commands that includes 'site specific search'.
Of course, if you have any specific questions then contact me, by all means. I would be glad to help.
I was searching the net for Australian pilgrims and groups and found that the:
CAMINO DOWNUNDER presents classes, workshops and individual consultancies for Australians and New Zealanders wishing to walk the great pilgrimage routes of France and Spain which have been in existence since the 9th century, to Santiago de Compostela in north western Spain.
That's interesting, and may be of benefit to some.
Men who wear socks with sandals: what are they thinking? I observed male pilgrims following a shower would dress and put on socks and sandals regardless of the weather conditions. I was bemused, and more so when these same men would question my sock-less naked feet when wearing Birkenstock sandals. No man should wear socks with sandals. (Women maybe?) Sandals are for bare naked sock-less feet!
