It was after an encounter with pilgrims walking the famous Camino trail in Spain in 2011 that Jesse and Briony Mowbray and a group of their friends – who were all at World Youth Day in Madrid at the time – came back to Sydney with a desire for pilgrimage in their home Diocese of Parramatta.
Back then they were all young adults in the parish of St Nicholas of Myra, in Penrith, who were also keen bushwalkers with a love of the Blue Mountains. They thought the mountains would be “pretty unique in terms of its capacity to welcome pilgrims for an encounter with Creation”, says Briony. And so they spent the next few years testing different routes between the mountain towns and talking to people about whether such a pilgrimage would be possible.
Then in 2015, the group set out to test the route they had devised – more than 110 kilometres between Emu Plains and the tiny hamlet of Bell, stopping at different parishes each night along the way. So successful was it that the next year they began inviting others along too.
Participants during the pilgrimage. Image: Courtesy of Epiphany Pilgrimage.
In the nine years they’ve been conducting the Epiphany Pilgrimage, more than 100 pilgrims from across Sydney, Australia and even overseas have walked the full seven-day route (the numbers are capped at 15-20 each year, for those who want to walk the entire route), with hundreds more having joined them for one or more days of the journey.
“Because there are train stations all the way along, you can pop in and pop out,” Briony says.
“It’s nice to often have a new injection of energy…especially by day three when you can start feeling a bit sore and you’ve got four days to go.”
‘Walking in Creation’
The pilgrimage gets its name from the feast of the Epiphany, which is celebrated on the first Sunday after New Year’s Day, and celebrates the visitation of the Magi to the infant Jesus. They walk the same route every year to coincide with this feast day.
The pilgrimage is structured with a Mass or liturgy held every morning before they set off, and each day there is a theme that follows the journey of the Magi – such as ‘God’s love in the Incarnation’, ‘stepping out in faith’, ‘following the star’ – where pilgrims are encouraged to reflect on a series of questions based on a relevant Scripture passage. Then during that day pilgrims are urged to have conversations about these questions as they walk.
On some days they will stop for reflection and prayer, such as the leg between Linden and Lawson where there are caves. Other days the conversations around the theme are “more chilled out and incidental”, Jesse says.
“So much happens in those incidental conversations,” he says. “Even when you’re walking in silence in Creation it’s just such as amazing experience.”
He says it’s extra special when they have a priest walking the pilgrimage – such as they will have in 2025 when Fr Dom Murphy OP will journey with the group – because these ‘incidental conversations’ can include confession. “Those are experiences you never get anywhere else.”
Image: Courtesy of Epiphany Pilgrimage.
Every pilgrim is asked to bring a special stone with them, much like the Camino pilgrims and their shells, and as part of their “pilgrim pack” are given a bandana which, if they attach to their backpack, shows the others they want time to themselves to pray, or think.
“Some come along for the opportunity to spend quality time in reflective silence and quiet contemplation,” says Briony. “And then there are others who are keen to chat about life and faith as we accompany each other through the bush.
“We’re just trying to create enough space for God to work in all of those different ways.”
The first day is generally the biggest, often with more than 100 walkers, including many families, attracted by the family focus, which includes a child-friendly pilgrimage and the Finnies Fiesta. But every day is special, both in the particular character of the pilgrimage walk and in the unique blessing of the parish communities of the Blue Mountains that the pilgrims encounter. In a different way, the last day is also a very special one.
It begins with a train ride from Blackheath to a block of land at Bell where those hardy souls who have finished the entire pilgrimage gather for a thanksgiving Mass at an open-air chapel and place their stones in wire baskets that form the base of the altar.
Pilgrims share a meal at the end of the pilgrimage. Image: Courtesy of Epiphany Pilgrimage.
For pilgrims of all ages
With the pilgrimage celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025, the Mowbrays say they feel very thankful and privileged to have witnessed God’s blessings over many years.
“When we first thought about it with this group of friends, we thought it would be for young people, but it became very evident straight away, when we opened it up, that people of all ages were really keen,” says Briony, adding that their oldest pilgrim, who is over 80, is also one who has completed it more times than most.
Most walkers need a “moderate” level of fitness, they say. There are parts where pilgrims have to climb up and down ladders, and often have to put up with extreme temperatures and pouring rain. Pilgrimage is deeply spiritual and draws meaning from the lows as well as the highs.
Image: Courtesy of Epiphany Pilgrimage.
But pilgrims don’t have to carry tents or sleeping bags – those are driven to each night’s stop at the next parish, where pilgrims are given a hot meal, shower and warm hall to sleep in.
Briony says this warm welcome by each parish is one of the highlights of the pilgrimage.
“The pilgrims always say, ‘we can’t believe that there are communities like this’,” she says.
“That whole experience of hospitality is quite overwhelming for many pilgrims.”
The Mowbrays feel very thankful for the many volunteers that make the pilgrimage possible each year and are looking for help with the organisation and running of future pilgrimages.
For those looking to register for next year’s 10th anniversary pilgrimage, from 2-9 January, 2025, go to epiphanypilgrimage.org/registration. Registrations for the full pilgrimage close December 15. Or contact epiphanypilgrimage@gmail.com, 0478 637 052.
This article was originally published in the 2024 Advent & Christmas | Summer edition of the Catholic Outlook Magazine. You can read the digital version here or pick up a copy in your local parish.
