POPE FRANCIS TO WALK THE CAMINO THIS YEAR - 162 Days to go

Another Shock from the “Chaos Pope”: Francis Will Walk the Camino to Santiago

Rome, April 1
The “Way of St. James” to Santiago, Spain is one of the oldest and most famous pilgrimage routes in Christendom. Of the many routes of varying length to Santiago, “The French Way” is one of the most popular. (The Spanish for “way” is “camino.”)
And in the latest shock in a papacy of many shocks, Pope Francis announced this morning that he will walk the final 36.5 kilometers (c. 22 miles) of “The French Way” from Arzúa to Santiago during this Easter season as a pilgrim on foot.
The announcement was made Monday morning at a hastily called Mass at St. Martha’s Guesthouse to which Pope Francis invited members of the Waldensian community in Rome. The Waldensians are a heretical group against whom St. Francis of Assisi preached in the 12th century.
At the Mass, Pope Francis did not issue an invitation to Communion to members of the breakaway sect. But it raised eyebrows when he freely offered Communion to those who came forward, the majority by far of the congregation of approximately 50 people. He made the shock announcement after Communion.
It seems that the 76-year-old pope made his decision to go on pilgrimage entirely spontaneously, without prior consultation of Vatican security forces or officials in the tourist industry or police force in Spain. Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi admitted that he had not known of the Holy Father’s plans before Mass, but he stressed that the decision had been made “in a spirit of serenity and with due consideration of its various aspects.”
 http://www.praytellblog.com/index.php/2013/04/01/another-shock-from-the-chaos-pope-francis-will-walk-the-camino-to-santiago/

So it seems that David and I are not the only mad ones here.    The reason that the Pope has chosen to walk the Camino this year is because it is the 800th Anniversary of St Francis of Assisi's visit to Santiago de Compostela, where he founded a convent. 
The way this happened makes a very interesting story.   I will tell you more in my next blog.