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Off we go!
16th June, 2009 - Posted by Archbishop Mark -
Word came to me from Canberra that the pilgrims had left - a little late but they were up and away. I sent a text to Fr Francis Kolencherry who is handling the logistics of the Pilgrimage. I just wanted to wish the group Buon Viaggio. I didn’t expect a reply from the plane, but I got what I expected from the ever reliable Fr Francis - a reply from Singapore once the pilgrims had made it that far. He told me that things were fine and that they were having fun. I tried to imagine what that might have meant on the flight from Sydney to Singapore. But I was glad to hear it because fun has always been part, if not the whole, of the pilgrimage experience. Chaucer’s pilgrims of The Canterbury Tales are shown as having quite a rollick. Let’s hope we’re still having fun by the end of the journey.
Fr Francis also told me that Archbishop Carroll had a bit of an upset stomach. Here we go, I thought, with another part of the pilgrimage experience. An upset stomach is nothing compared to some of the physical hardship and ill health Paul had to put up with on his pilgrim path - which is all very well when you’re not the one with the problem. But all is well. Fr Francis took Archbishop Carroll to the medico at Singapore airport who gave him some magic potion which will have Frank better than ever by the time the pilgrims reach Athens.
I’ve been packing my bag, trying to travel as light as I can without leaving anything behind. Travelling so often by foot, Paul had to carry almost nothing, I’ve got no idea how he managed. He says at one point that he’s left his books and winter cloak behind: that would have been because they were too much of a hassle to carry. At least I can stuff a bit more into my pilgrim bag…and the bag even has wheels. I might add that I’m going from Rome to Athens via Budapest. That’s almost as good as Paul going from Ephesus to Corinth via Thessalonica which is the kind of thing he did often enough.
Tags: archbishop francis carroll, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, footsteps of saint paul, pilgrimage, st paul
Posted on: June 16, 2009
Filed under: Archbishop Mark's teachings
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