When Kingston-Channel parishioner John Prichard set out to walk across Tasmania during Lent, he envisioned a long, symbolic trek to mark his retirement after 42 years of work. Source: Hobart Archdiocese.
However, the sudden and unexpected death of a close friend transformed his plan into something more profound.
“My initial thoughts were simply to conduct a long walk,” Mr Prichard said. “[But it] dawned on me that my walk should be something far beyond a mere physical pursuit; it should be first and foremost a spiritual one, a pilgrimage, in keeping with this Jubilee Year 2025 theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.
“And so, it became a pilgrimage of thanksgiving for all the benefits I had enjoyed in life through my work up until this time, and a pilgrimage of hope and guidance for the next 25+ years of my life, God-willing.”
Setting off from Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Devonport with his 18kg backpack, Mr Prichard’s three-week long walk spanned Tasmania’s varied and striking landscapes before arriving at his destination: St James Church in Cygnet.
Describing it as a “Tasmanian Way of St James”, Mr Prichard said he was also able to visit many churches along the way, including the four designated pilgrimage sites in Tasmania for this Jubilee Year.
Walking alone, often in silence, he quickly found that the simple pace of 5km/h was not just a physical rhythm, but a spiritual one.
Mr Prichard said it was at this speed that we can “see, hear, smell and feel nature and all its beautiful intricacies.”
“We come into a much more intimate union with God’s creation, appreciate it far more and become more prayerful, more aware and more grateful as we walk slowly with Our Lord,” he said.
He added that the wonderful things about his pilgrimage were the small miracles and acts of kindness experienced along the way, saying it felt as if his journey was being guarded and watched over.
These included chance encounters with fruit pickers from Vanuatu and East Timor, a local couple who saved him hours of walking by suggesting a new bridge route, and a lost debit card returned in Deloraine by a Solomon Islander walker via former Youth Office Director Sam Clear.
Even a simple request for water near Richmond turned biblical, when a vineyard owner, Malcolm, handed him a bottle of Pinot Noir with a laugh: “You came for water, I turned it into wine.”
FULL STORY
Walking God’s speed: A three-week Jubilee pilgrimage across Tasmania (By Josh Low, Hobart Archdiocese)
