Arthur Blessitt, the man famous for carrying a cross over 40,000 miles across 7 continents, has died as the age o 84. Known as the “Pilgrim with the Cross,” Blessitt famously carried a 12-foot, 45-lb cross over 43,000 miles, spanning 324 countries. Blessitt was an ordained minister by the time he was 20, with his evangelism activities began in the 1960s during the Jesus Movement when he opened a coffee house ministry called His Place. The shop was the original site of the cross until one day Blessitt felt God was telling him to take it around the world. “If I knew I was going to carry it, I would not have made it so big,” he would say later.

He left on Christmas day in 1969, starting a 56-year journey that would land him in the Guinness Book of World Records for the “World’s Longest Walk.” Reflecting on his experience in his book, The Cross, Blessitt shared about a world hungry for Jesus. “After having carried the cross in every nation, I can say that the world is open to and hungry for the good news of Jesus and the cross. The only problem is that the laborers are few, as Jesus said. My goal has been to get the cross off the wall and into people’s minds and hearts, where they can understand and experience its message,” he wrote.

In a Facebook post seemingly written in advance by Blessitt in preparation for his passing, he wrote, “I was just a donkey and pilgrim, lifting up the cross and Jesus and loved the people of the world. What a glorious journey of life with Jesus my Lord and Savior. I’ve really been looking forward to this walk in Glory. These feet that walked so far on roads of dirt and tar will now be walking on the streets of gold. Ready to see Jesus again! I rejoice in Jesus, now, and in the hour of my passing. ‘Father, into Your Hands Jesus I commit my spirit.’” Blessitt announced gladly that he was “home at last.”

TBN paid tribute to Blessitt on X. “Christians are the only people who can grieve and rejoice at the same time. Our dear friend Arthur Blessitt, affectionately known as the ‘Minister of the Sunset Strip,’ has left this earth on his final journey!” “Blessed is Arthur Blessitt,” wrote another user. “What a life! Walking the world carrying the cross and sharing the message of Christ for decades. May the Creator & Savior welcome you. It’s not a death, it’s a homecoming!” Blessitt leaves behind his wife, Denise Irja Blessitt, seven children, twelve grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.