202409-Pilgrimage-Norwich-Walsingham

Bishopric of the Armed Forces Walking Pilgrimage from Norwich to Walsingham

16th - 20th September 2024

Undeterred by experience of inclement weather throughout the summer of 2024, 15 hardy pilgrims assembled in Norfolk on a Monday evening in September, and spent the next 5 days wondering why we had bothered to bring waterproof jackets and trousers, trench foot treatments and other deterrents to bad weather: God smiled on our ambition, and the one thing I will not describe further was the ensuing mild, dry and warm weather.

After gathering and settling into our accommodation at the Anglican Shrine Centre in Walsingham, we ventured forth each morning by minibus (thank you to our drivers!) to be taken to our start point, left to walk for the day then recovered back to our accommodation to repeat the cycle the following day. Each day’s minibus journey out was shorter than before, until by the Friday morning we hardly lost sight of Walsingham.

The historical arc of the Pilgrimage linked the 11th and 14th Centuries with the 19th (just) to 21st. We began the pilgrimage on the Tuesday morning in the City of Norwich, with a visit to the Anglican Church of St Julian and a warm welcome from its Vicar. One of Norwich’s oldest churches (the dedication is to a male St Julian, and predates “Mother Julian” by centuries), St Julian’s was rebuilt after World War 2 bomb damage despite a proposal to reduce the number of churches in Norwich by demolition, due to its significance as a historical site. “Mother Julian” was a 13th-14th Century ‘anchoress’ –a female hermit – who was granted religious visions having been spared from serious illness at the age of 30. She devoted the rest of her life to solitude, prayer and writing the first book in the English language known to be authored by a woman – the Revelations of Divine Love. Her cell was attached to St Julian’s (its foundations were uncovered during the bomb damage repairs). By kind permission of the vicar, we were able to celebrate the first of our daily Masses in his Church and had a chance to visit Mother Julian’s cell. Thanks to the efforts of the Rev (Wg Cdr) Ashley Mitchell, one of our co-leaders, we also began each day’s activities during the week with a short reading and meditation from her writings. After Mass we then walked the short distance from St Julian’s to the Anglican Cathedral in Norwich, since that is the start of the traditional pilgrim route from the city to Walsingham.

This is probably a good point to say something about Walsingham, quite possibly the only place in Britain known to many Europeans for about 500 years. The story began in 1061 when a widow living in England experienced a vision or visions of Our Lady, in which She instructed the woman – Richeldis – to build a replica of the ‘Holy House’ in Nazareth where Mary had received the message of the Annunciation, as a site for pilgrimage. Richeldis did what was asked, and the site grew in fame. After a few years, Augustinian Canons moved to Walsingham and the site became part of their Priory. Soon it ranked in the ‘Big Four’ destinations for medieval pilgrimages in Europe – Jerusalem, Rome, Santiago de la Compostella in Spain and Walsingham. Reputedly, every English king from Henry III to Henry VIII visited Walsingham during his life. All this ended, however, with the Reformation and the Dissolution of the Monasteries; Walsingham’s shrine was utterly destroyed and if any local devotion remained in the ruins, it was covert and unrecorded.

In the early 20th Century, interest in the site and its traditions revived in both the Catholic and Anglican traditions. Although it may not be in exactly the correct historical location, the Anglican Centre in Walsingham includes a re-created Holy House within an impressive church, beautiful grounds containing Chapels and devotional sites, comfortable accommodation and a well-stocked refectory and cafe, all of which we had the opportunity to enjoy during our pilgrimage.

The pilgrimage covered a total distance of about 40 miles across gently rolling Norfolk countryside in 3 ½ days. We ‘front-loaded’ the walking, covering 11-12 miles on each of the first 3 days, leaving ourselves a gentle 3–4-mile stroll on the Friday morning. Each day began and ended with Morning and Evening Prayer (and meditation from Julian), and included daily Mass. On Tuesday, we had Mass at St Julian’s, on Wednesday we delayed our departure slightly to join the Catholic parish in Walsingham in their daily Mass, on Thursday we were welcomed to a private chapel en-route, the property of Mr Tom Fitzalan-Howard, and on the Friday, we had use of the ‘Slipper Chapel’ at the Catholic Shrine and Basilica, of which more in a moment. Along the way, the tradition of welcoming pilgrims appears alive and well, from Tom inviting us to his house for coffee and biscuits after Mass, to the village church who made tea and coffee for us, provided restroom facilities and told us much about their impressive (partly 11th C) building.

On the Friday we had a short walk from the previous drop-off point to the ‘Slipper Chapel’, a remnant of the medieval site. It marked the boundary of the Augustinian grounds, and was the point where pilgrims would traditionally remove their footwear and undertake final spiritual preparations before completing the last mile to the Shrine. When the medieval Shrine was destroyed, the Slipper Chapel survived, although not as a church; at one point it became a barn. It returned to Catholic ownership in 1897, allowing its restoration and rededication. The complex around it now includes chapels and an outside worship space alongside other facilities and has been awarded the status of a National Shrine (1934) and Minor Basilica (2015). We celebrated Mass in the Slipper Chapel before removing footwear and proceeding to Walsingham and the conclusion of our Pilgrimage.

As pilgrims, we were about as mixed a bunch as could be imagined. We were a true ‘Whole Force’ and ecumenical, team, with Civil Service, Naval, Army, Air Force and Veteran elements, two Padres (one Catholic, one Anglican, always bring a spare!) and a Deacon in formation. We were also honoured by having Bishop Paul as one of our number and are incredibly grateful to him for his daily celebration of Mass, his prayerful leadership, and the opportunities to discuss faith, the world, the Services and the merits of various kinds of motorbikes throughout the week. I think everyone gained greatly from the experience, though I’m confident that everyone did this in their own way, probably based on their own faith journey, their previous experience of pilgrimage and whatever was most on their mind during the week. We made it to the end, broadly uninjured, and dispersed on Friday refreshed, reinforced in our faith, and I think universally keen to try the Pilgrimage experience again.

Roman Catholic Bishopric Of The Forces

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