John Paul II Walking Pilgrimage reunion

Arriving at Walsingham

Sixty young people took part in a three-day John Paul II Walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham this summer. Next month the organisers are planning a 20-mile reunion walk along the Thames.

The John Paul II Walking Pilgrimage for the New Evangelisation saw a team of some 60 young people walking from Bury St Edmunds to Walsingham from 9-12 August covering 20 miles a day, with stops at Brandon and Swaffham, with daily Mass, and with the Rosary, hymns, and talks on the way. The pilgrims were led by the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph. This was the seventh annual Walk.

There was a special open-air Mass at Castleacre in the ruins of the Priory, celebrated by priests of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, who walked all the way with the pilgrims as chaplains for the pilgrimage. On arrival at the shrine at Walsingham, timed perfectly for the 12 noon Mass in the big church, the John Paul Walkers got a round of applause from the various pilgrim groups gathered from other parts of Britain. After Mass, they went on to walk the Holy Mile barefoot, and completed their Pilgrimage with Adoration and Benediction in the parish church.

The Reunion Pilgrim Walk is planned for Sunday 28 October. It starts with Mass at Westminster Cathedral at 10.30am. Anyone and everyone is welcome to join in. Bring sandwiches and a Rosary and wear suitable clothes and shoes for a 20-mile walk. Pilgrims will be walking along the Thames, and praying for the New Evangelisation.

Further information from Joanna Bogle at: auntiejoanna@yahoo.co.uk