‘Friars on Foot: Preaching the Gospel . . . One Step at a Time’
NEW ORLEANS, LA — Beginning May 29, 2016, two Dominican priests will walk over 450 miles from St. Anthony of Padua Church in New Orleans to the National Shrine of St. Martin de Porres in Memphis, Tennessee. Fr. Thomas Schaefgen, OP, and Fr. Francis Orozco, OP, are celebrating the 800th anniversary of the approval of the Order of Preachers, also called Dominicans after the founder, St. Dominic de Guzman, by reaching back to the roots of the friars preachers. The Order of Preachers (Dominicans) is a Roman Catholic religious order made up of priests and brothers that was formally approved by Pope Honorius III in 1216 with the mission of “preaching and the salvation of souls.” St. Dominic followed the example of Jesus who moved about preaching the Good News from town to town, rarely staying in one place, and having no place to lay his head. The route that Fr. Thomas and Fr. Francis will travel begins in New Orleans, takes them around Lake Pontchartrain, and then they will head North through Mississippi, ending in Memphis, TN. The pilgrimage will begin on May 29, 2016, and end on June 29, 2016.
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