He's not sure where he is. But he's not lost.

He doesn't have a dime. But he's not poor. He never held a job. But it doesn't matter to him.Pilgrim George - who will turn 70 this month - is a study in contradictions.The devout nomad, wearing his denim patchwork robe and carrying a bowed staff topped with a cross, was spotted walking into Tamaqua Saturday at noon during a busy Fourth of July weekend.He agreed to spend time with the TIMES NEWS while he sat and enjoyed lunch, consisting of a sandwich and bottle of spring water, both of which were donated by a passer-by."I've walked around the world," says Pilgrim George, whose real name is George Walter of Butler, near Pittsburgh. "I've visited 41 countries over 40 years, across Asia, Europe, the Mideast and two times to Jerusalem."His current expedition is an 800-mile walk through Pennsylvania and Maryland, including the Lancaster and Gettysburg area.Each year, he spends the winter months as a hermit, staying at a Byzantine monastery in Butler. He takes to the road when warmer weather arrives."I plan an 800-mile walk every summer," he explains.He says his life's direction was largely unplanned until he answered a special calling about 1970."I was in the seminary for 12 years but instead of becoming a priest for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, the Lord called me to walk," he says.For his first trip, he went south. He jumped on a freighter in New Orleans and traveled to Barcelona, Spain."I wanted to see the Shrine of Santiago," he says. "It was the third most important pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages after Jerusalem and Rome."According to George, in May, 1971, he then asked the Lord "Where shall I go next?"He says the Lord responded, "This pilgrimage is over, but you'll remain a pilgrim the rest of your life. Now you will pilgrimage in the desert of the city of man."He says wherever people gather is to be considered the city of man.When asked if he's learned anything special after spending 40 years walking the world, George responds without hesitation."There are only two kinds of people - happy and unhappy. Those who are happy know that God loves them. God loves everyone but not everyone opens their heart to that love," says the gentle, soft-spoken man. "People's lives are ruled by fear. To overcome fear, open your heart to the Holy Spirit, the spirit of love."George's life is profoundly simple. He never married and has no children. He sleeps in a tent he carries on his back. He accepts food from strangers he meets along the way. He calls it "divine providence" and says "Jesus said the Heavenly Father knows all your needs."In Tamaqua, he sat under a shade tree adjacent to the railroad tracks at the north end of Railroad Street near Schickram's Car Wash, where he ate lunch. Afterward, he walked in high heat and humidity to the Tamaqua Library to check emails, and then to St. Jerome's Catholic Church.He says left Pittsburgh on May 2 and expects to return there on September 2. He hopes to walk in Canada next year.Why does he do it?"St. Paul said the church is like a body. I'm the feet," says George, adding that the verse can be found in Corinthians. He offers a bit of advice. "God loves you very much. If you open your heart to God's love for you, you'll have peace and joy in your life forever."After visiting Tamaqua, he expected to walk over the Blue Mountain to Allentown to visit the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadeloupe at the Church of the Immaculate Conception.According to reports, George Walter was born July 25, 1941, and grew up the eldest of Florian and Mary Rita Walter's three sons. Interestingly, George's parents didn't understand his chosen nomadic life, and he seemed to separate himself from his family. According to published reports, he was on a 13-year pilgrimage around the world when his parents died. He was in Norway when his father passed in 1997, and two years later, he was in the Ukraine when his mother died.He never returned to see them in their final years, nor did he attend their funerals.He simply continued to walk."I promised the Lord I'll walk until He comes back again," says George. "Or until He takes me home."