LONDON - 18 July 2006 -540 words
Young
Catholics take to the road to tell others about their faith
Eighteen hardy pilgrims took part in the first ever John Paul
II walking pilgrimage for the 'New Evangelisation' in England
and Wales last week.
From 13 - 17 July the group, mainly made up of young people, covered
47 miles between Ely to the national shrine to Our Lady in Walsingham.
It was the brainchild of a new Catholic religious congregation
called the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph who are based in the
New Forest. Community member, Sr Jordan James OP said: "Pope
John Paul II repeatedly invited the Catholic community to engage
in a 'New Evangelisation'; a renewed proclamation of the Gospel
in and for these times. Our response to that was to prayerfully
witness to our faith through a pilgrims' walk under the patronage
of Our Lady. It was a wonderful experience which we hope
will be repeated next year."
Day one of the pilgrimage saw the historical offering of Mass
in St Etheldreda's chapel at Ely Cathedral. Catholic Mass
is very rarely celebrated there and the pilgrims were also treated
to a tour of the building. The Cathedral is most famed for
its outstanding Lady Chapel where the centre piece is a modern
statue of Our Lady.
After an overnight stay at St Etheldreda's Church in Ely, the
group set off for Brandon where a hearty breakfast was offered
by members of St Thomas's Parish. With full stomachs, a
21 mile trek to Swaffham was ahead of them. Fifteen year
old, Samuel Goodman was the youngest member of pilgrimage and
said: "It was a new experience for me and one that I hope
to repeat in the near future despite all of the pain!!"
On the 15th, using the gym at the Sacred Heart Convent School
at Swaffham as a base, the pilgrims continued their journey covering
another seventeen miles. Another historical site was chosen
as the location for Mass the ruins of the Priory of Castle
Acre, which was previously a Cluniac centre of prayer. Pilgrimage
Spiritual Director, Fr Benjamin Earl OP said: "It was a great
privilege to be able to celebrate Mass where pilgrims of centuries
past would also have prayed. In turn, for our group it marked
a meaningful participation in the continuing tradition of the
public witness of Walsingham pilgrims."
With tired limbs and blistered feet, the final leg of the journey
was on the 16th and covered Helhoughton to Walsingham itself.
As the pilgrims arrived singing a hymn to Mary, the Shrine bells
tolled and their journey was complete. Tents were put up
for the final night of prayer and fellowship and departures followed
the next morning.
The Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation (CASE), which is
an agency of the Bishops' Conference, provided evangelistic materials
which were distributed to people that the pilgrim group met along
the way. CASE Team Member and pilgrim, Clare Ward
said: "The walk was a courageous, prayerful and proactive
response to the late Holy Father's call for us all to publicly
witness to the joy of our faith. Taking to the byways and
highways is a Biblical model and there were many simple and profound
evangelistic encounters. Roll on next year!"
Source: CASE
© Independent Catholic
News 2006
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