Walsingham voted UK's most popular shrine

In a poll that attracted thousands of votes on the BBC's website and by post, Walsingham, in North Norfolk, England, has been voted the nation's favourite spiritual place. More than a quarter of a million Christians travel to Walsingham each year where Richeldis, an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman, is said to have had a vision of the Virgin Mary in 1061. The vision inspired her to create a replica of the Holy House of the Annunciation. Today, nothing exists of the House that Richeldis built, but the Slipper Chapel survived and was restored at the end of the 19th century. It is now home to the Catholic shrine. In 1931 the local Anglican vicar established a new Holy House, which was expanded later in the decade to form the Anglican shrine. Walsingham has been a place of pilgrimage for Catholics since mediaeval times, when travel to Rome, the Holy Land or Compostella was only possible for a few. Fr Noel Wyn, director of the Catholic shrine told ICN: "the news was very nice to hear - although I wasn't surprised. Walsingham is a very spiritual place. It has a wonderful atmosphere and pilgrims have been coming here for over a thousand years." The top ten spiritual places in the BBC's poll are: 1. Walsingham; 2. Iona, Scotland; 3. Avebury; 4. Shrine of St Alban; 5. Durham Cathedral; 6. Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland; 7. Lee Abbey, Devon; 8. St David's Cathedral, Wales; 9. St Peter's, Bradwell, Essex; 10. Twyford Down. The Dowry of Mary Pilgrimage to Walsingham takes on Sunday, 7 September. It will be lead by the Rt Rev Michael Evans, Bishop of East Anglia. For more information check the Listings Pages or visit the Walsingham web site at: www.walsingham.org.uk Sources: ACN/ICN