The Perpetual Pilgrims, who will travel the four routes in their entirety, are between 19 and 29 years old. Father Landry, a former university athlete, now 50 years old, has no illusions that it will be an easy walk physically and considers that it should be taken as “mortification.”
“I recognize that this path to follow the Lord is sometimes easy and downhill. But many others it is a challenge and it is uphill. That’s what the ‘narrow path’ is. And psychologically I am very prepared for some of the suffering that my aging body will face along the way,” he maintained.
He commented that despite the difficulties, he and the pilgrims he will minister to “will form friendships that will last the rest of our lives,” as he attempts to form them more deeply in their faith as a “family.”
On June 26, in the midst of the pilgrimage and probably somewhere in Ohio, Father Landry will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his priestly ordination. He commented that leading people to Christ on their journey to heaven has always been a central aspect of his priesthood and will continue to be so throughout the pilgrimage experience.