News update
Pilgrim, Phil McCarthy has walked the Via di Francesco
on 800th anniversary of St Francis of Assisi's death
on 800th anniversary of St Francis of Assisi's death
Sunday 31 May 2026 Founder of Pilgrim Ways, Phil McCarthy, walked the 322 miles of the "Via di Francesco" to mark the 800th anniversary of the death of St Francis and to raise funds for SFLG. Phil reached Rome on 30 May. He has raised £3,332 for SFLG.
The Lord has told you, O mortal one, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? Only this: to do what is right, to show mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6.8"
Thank you Phil!
About Phil McCarthy
Phil was a GP in Bristol for many years. He held numerous leadership positions within the NHS and was Clinical Lead for the Bristol Homeless Health Service. In December 2015 he took up the role of CEO of Caritas Social Action Network, the domestic social action agency of the Catholic Church in England & Wales. In March 2021, he returned to the NHS to assist with the Covid-19 vaccination programme. He has been interested in long distance walking for many years and in 2008 he walked from Canterbury to Rome alone. This experience awakened an interest in pilgrimage and made him realise that he was a pilgrim!
Phil was a GP in Bristol for many years. He held numerous leadership positions within the NHS and was Clinical Lead for the Bristol Homeless Health Service. In December 2015 he took up the role of CEO of Caritas Social Action Network, the domestic social action agency of the Catholic Church in England & Wales. In March 2021, he returned to the NHS to assist with the Covid-19 vaccination programme. He has been interested in long distance walking for many years and in 2008 he walked from Canterbury to Rome alone. This experience awakened an interest in pilgrimage and made him realise that he was a pilgrim!
As well as his own pilgrimage in April/May on the Via di Francesco in Italy, Phil is encouraging others to walk for peace with St Francis in England & Wales
Founder of Pilgrim Ways, Phil McCarthy
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As a medical student in India I saw the devastating consequences of this disease. I am therefore walking the Way of St Francis to raise funds for St Francis Leprosy Guild" Phil McCarthy |
St Francis Leprosy Guild ("SFLG") is the UK’s Catholic leprosy charity. SFLG has cared for people with leprosy for over 130 years. The charity operates in twelve countries in Africa, Asia and in Brazil where leprosy is endemic. By supporting over thirty leprosy centres and projects, it plays its part in caring for those affected by the disease and working towards a leprosy-free world. SFLG funds research projects, hospitals, rehabilitation centres and Active Case-Finding; a programme that finds, diagnoses and treats people with leprosy before it causes disability and spreads into communities.
Please contact Katharine Jones for further information.
Please contact Katharine Jones for further information.
The Franciscan vision of peace is not limited to the relations between human beings, but also embraces the whole of creation. Francis, who calls the sun “brother” and the moon “sister”, who recognises in every creature a reflection of divine beauty, reminds us that peace must be extended to the entire family of Creation. This insight resonates with particular urgency in our time, when our common home is threatened and cries out under exploitation." Pope Leo XIV on the opening of the Eighth Centenary Year of the death of St Francis of Assisi
