Camino San Francisco a walk of faith for Geraldton pilgrims

The corellas will rest easy in Geraldton this weekend ... their No.1 pursuer is literally walking away.

Instead, of having the St Francis Xavier Cathedral’s damaging birds on his mind, Father Robert Cross will be leading the fifth Camino San Francisco.

Fr Cross and a devout band of pilgrims will start their walk at Ellendale Pool on Friday morning.

The pilgrimage ends on Sunday afternoon and the final day’s highlights include an 80th anniversary mass at Nanson and a walk to a memorial to the McGauran family, near where Monsignor John Hawes celebrated the first mass in East Yuna.

“The best advice for anyone undertaking a camino is to be a pilgrim,” Fr Cross said.

“A pilgrim expects uncertainties and even more so looks for meaning in uncertainties.

“For the pilgrim it is the journey, not the destination.

“A pilgrim leaves space in his or her life for chance — be it happenstance, fate, serendipity or divine intervention.

“An example of this happened on our first Camino San Francisco (in 2015) when on the first day, a walker (Leonie Marsh) glanced down to see what seemed like a rusty piece of iron on the dirt.

“It was a wrought iron miniature of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge.

“How’s that for happenstance, fate, serendipity or divine intervention?”