Archbishop of Canterbury on pilgrimage to Walsingham

Posted on May 29, 2019 
Filed under Church of England

“The Most Reverend Justin Welby appeared as a guest preacher at the National Pilgrimage to the Anglican Shrine of our Lady of Walsingham. …

The Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham has a long religious history, dating back to 1061 when it is said that the Virgin Mary led Richeldis de Faverches to Nazareth in spirit and asked her asked her to build a replica of the house where the Annunciation occurred.”

– Story from Eastern Daily Press in Norwich.

What is the Anglican Shrine of our Lady of Walsingham? From their website:

“After nearly four hundred years, the 20th century saw the restoration of pilgrimage to Walsingham as a regular feature of Christian life in these islands, and indeed beyond. In 1897, there was a Roman Catholic pilgrimage to the restored 14th century Slipper Chapel, now at the centre of the Roman Catholic National Shrine.

Fr Hope Patten, appointed as Vicar of Walsingham in 1921, ignited Anglican interest in the pre-Reformation pilgrimage. It was his idea to base a new statue of Our Lady of Walsingham on the image depicted on the seal of the medieval Priory. In 1922, this statue was set up in the Parish Church of St. Mary, and regular pilgrimage devotion followed. From the first night that the statue was placed there, people gathered around it to pray, asking Mary to join her powerful prayer with theirs. This work of intercession continues to this day.”

The Archbishop has visited Walsingham several times previously.

Earlier: Reversing the Reformation? – Church Society.

(Photo: The Anglican Shrine of our Lady of Walsingham.)