Franciscan friars walk across Virginia

WASHINGTON, July 29 (UPI) -- Six Franciscan friars have completed a pilgrimage on foot from Roanoke, Va., to Washington.

The group crossed the Potomac River on Tuesday after trudging 300 miles in six weeks, sleeping on picnic tables, in a church basement and an abandoned schoolhouse occupied by an American Indian healer, The Washington Post reported. Along the way, they talked to college students, commuters and a Chick-fil-A mascot dressed as a cow.

"Dressed like we are in our habits, it's like a walking sign that says, 'Tell us your life's problems,' " Cliff Hennings, 23, told the Post.

The friars were completing training in the Chicago area when some of them came up with the idea for the pilgrimage, following the example of St. Francis of Assisi.

They tried to follow the travel advice Jesus gave his disciples: "Take nothing for the journey -- no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic."

They did pack a few necessities, including toothbrushes, water, one blanket each and a change of underwear. The money pressed upon them they spent on food, giving the surplus to charity.