Press Release
Pilgrim, Phil McCarthy, walks Via di Francesco to mark
800th anniversary of St Francis of Assisi's death
800th anniversary of St Francis of Assisi's death
Sunday 26 April 2026: St Francis Leprosy Guild ("SFLG") is delighted to announce that founder of Pilgrim Ways, Phil McCarthy, will walk the "Via di Francesco" to mark the 800th anniversary of the death of St Francis and raise funds for SFLG. Phil will start from Florence on 27 April and hopes to reach Rome by 30 May. The route is 322 miles long.
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 
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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
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
About St Francis of Assisi
St Francis was born in the Italian town of Assisi in 1182. Named Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, but known as Francesco, he was the son of a prosperous cloth merchant. A charismatic, charming man, he dressed to impress and display his wealth. He was a born leader of people with a retinue of followers who lived a life of privilege and excess.
Following a profound encounter with a man with leprosy on the plains below Assisi, Francis left his family and comfortable lifestyle and began a new life of poverty. He wanted to follow what he considered to be God’s call. Much has been written about Francis' love of nature, but his relationship was deeper than that. Francis really felt that nature, all God's creations, were part of his brotherhood.
St Francis died on 4 October 1226 at the age of 45. He is considered the founder of all Franciscan Orders and the patron saint of animals, ecologists, and merchants. In addition to founding the men’s Order of Friars Minor, he founded the women’s Order of St Clare, the Third Order of St Francis, and the Custody of the Holy Land. St Francis is one of the most venerated figures in Christianity. He was canonized on 16 July 1228 by Pope Gregory IX.
Read more about our Patron Saint St Francis
Read more about St Francis' bones
St Francis was born in the Italian town of Assisi in 1182. Named Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, but known as Francesco, he was the son of a prosperous cloth merchant. A charismatic, charming man, he dressed to impress and display his wealth. He was a born leader of people with a retinue of followers who lived a life of privilege and excess.
Following a profound encounter with a man with leprosy on the plains below Assisi, Francis left his family and comfortable lifestyle and began a new life of poverty. He wanted to follow what he considered to be God’s call. Much has been written about Francis' love of nature, but his relationship was deeper than that. Francis really felt that nature, all God's creations, were part of his brotherhood.
St Francis died on 4 October 1226 at the age of 45. He is considered the founder of all Franciscan Orders and the patron saint of animals, ecologists, and merchants. In addition to founding the men’s Order of Friars Minor, he founded the women’s Order of St Clare, the Third Order of St Francis, and the Custody of the Holy Land. St Francis is one of the most venerated figures in Christianity. He was canonized on 16 July 1228 by Pope Gregory IX.
Read more about our Patron Saint St Francis
Read more about St Francis' bones
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 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"
