Note: Posts might not appear daily, but I’ll denote the day number in the titles of the posts, and the date in the body of my posts.
About I month ago I registered with the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome and received my pilgrim passport and badge. The passport is required for certain pilgrim lodgings along the way, and it’s also the official record of the pilgrim’s path. 
If one does, in fact, make it to Rome, the passport (with stamps from the places you visited, especially the last 100 km to Rome) is required in order to receive a Testimonium from the Vatican.
The Confraternity recognizes what they refer to as the “21st century pilgrim”: people who want to walk the path for reasons in addition to (or other than) the strictly religious (i.e., historical, cultural, sporting, etc).
Canterbury
April 12, 2019
I’m currently in Canterbury, UK. It’s been 15 years since I was last here and it’s every bit as charming as I remember it.
Canterbury Cathedral is the official start of the Via Francigena, and I had a date to get a pilgrim’s blessing before my trip. I can’t even begin to describe how warm and welcoming everyone was.
I was taken through the side gate next to the regular visitor’s entrance to meet Louise at the welcome center. She gave me the first stamp on my passport, and I had a shockingly emotional reaction. She came out of the office to give me a hug and walk me to the Via Francigena stone to take a picture of it with my feet next to it.
Then, we then went on a hunt for Chaplain Steve who had apparently been very excited about performing my blessing. From what I gathered he was relatively new to Canterbury, and I was going to be one of his first pilgrims. Well, after a bit of wandering and asking around with Louise, there was no sign of Steve. A staff member suggested since we were so close to noon I should stay for the midday service and grab him after. If you know me, you know this incited a bit of anxiety. I don’t like making demands of anyone. Having an appointment is one thing, but the idea of going up to a chaplain who just did a public service in the Canterbury Cathedral and say, “Hi. I’m Erica. I’d like a private audience now,” seemed obnoxious and completely selfish, even though I know that they regularly meet with pilgrims.
I took a seat for the service and decided that this would be more than enough to mark the start of my trip.
After a couple minutes a female chaplain approached me and said, “I hear you are a pilgrim?” I said, “Yes, I am,” and she replied, “Well, I’m going to do this service and I’ll stand to the side when I’m done. When you’re ready, you can come up and we’ll have some time together.” I really appreciated the invitation and enjoyed the short service.
Afterward, she was talking to a couple people, so I waited, soaking in the historical significance of where I was, and a male chaplain tapped me on the should and asked, “Are you Erica?” It was Chaplain Steve! Right then, the other chaplain finished her conversation and she explained, “We couldn’t find you, so I offered to do the blessing for her.” He was very gracious in his deference: “Well you’ll be in much better hands with her than you would have been with me.” Though Steve seemed lovely, I think it’s just as well I ended up with Wendy. She was older (at least in her 70s based on information she provided) and had my favorite kind of energy (strong, empathetic, and patient). We talked a while and then she said a blessing for me.
I won’t recount the blessing because it was intimate. She confessed she didn’t have the official pilgrim prayer that they typically use with her, but if I was okay with it, she’d say a personalized one. It was perfect; she had paid such close attention to our conversation and let it inform what she said. It truly was the best way imaginable to mark the start of my trip, and I will think of her while I walk (and for long after).
Next step: I finally get started–the 20 mile path* to Dover.
*If I haven’t said elsewhere, I’m basing my route primarily off of the Lightfoot guides (with my own twists based on some preferences—and likely sometimes improvised in the moment :))
Canterbury to Rome 