On Saturday 27th September staff and students travelled to Walsingham as Pilgrims of Hope. As you may know, 2025 is the Holy Year of Jubilee, this year it is called 'Pilgrims of Hope'.
Anne Merry, Lay Chaplain tells us about the event -
It was a very early start, but that did not put us off!
Walsingham, in North Norfolk, has been a place of pilgrimage since medieval times, when for most people travel to Rome or Compostella was virtually impossible. The original shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, founded in 1061, was destroyed at the Reformation.
Many barren years passed until the Slipper Chapel, a 14th century wayside pilgrim chapel, was restored, and pilgrimage to Walsingham began once more. In 1934, the English Bishops named the Slipper Chapel the Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady.
The idea of going on pilgrimage is deeply embedded in the Christian faith and in this Jubilee Year of Hope we felt called to be present and to journey in faith.
Sophia reflects that, 'When going to Walsingham, I expected the things that we did like attending the Mass and walking the mile. What I realised later, however, was the fact that when we all share the same belief and when coming together to celebrate it, it feels like a little neighbourhood where everyone knows each other and brought a type of comfort I never thought I would have. So, what I didn't expect was the feeling that pilgrimages would leave me with after experiencing it all.'
We all left richer for the experience and ready to encourage others to be pilgrims too!
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