At Savio Salesian College recently we went for a pilgrimage to Walsingham. Some of our young parishioners of St James' took part in this event. It's an amazing place which has been a pilgrim site for centuries. Perhaps we should organise another pilgrimage for the adult parishioners this time?
Here is an article from Hazel Fort about our pilgrimage:
Walsingham
It seems scarcely a year since our first pilgrimage and here we were planning the second.
We had representatives from every year in the school but then the Year 11 student sadly had to withdraw as the dates of the pilgrimage clashed with his GCSE Business Studies. He was devastated.
What is it about this tiny Norfolk village that is so attractive? There are no cinemas or shops or arcades in Walsingham. Wi-Fi is chancy as are signals for mobile phones. There isn’t even a bank or cash machine. It is virtually two streets with a mediaeval lock-up in the centre; to the right is the Anglican Shrine and to the left, in the quaintly named Friday Market Street, is the old school (Elmham House) which has been developed into rooms for Roman Catholic visitors and attached is the Church of the Annunciation. There are one or two guest houses for pilgrims , a village store a hotel and a pub and there you have it! But Walsingham has a magic of its own.
But our students fall in love with this little village.
Our Lady appeared to Richeldis in a dream and took her back to Nazareth. She asked her to build a replica of the Holy House in Walsingham and this she did. It became a place of pilgrimage; one of the four major pilgrimage centres in the mediaeval world, visited by many kings. Then disaster struck. Henry VIII’s Reformation of the monasteries saw the shrine and particular statue destroyed.
It became popular again when Charlotte Boyd bought the Slipper Chapel in 1896 and Walsingham’s reputation was restored.
The morning of the 7th October dawned. The whole of England had been suffering dire weather conditions and I was apprehensive. Having been there in June and seen the devastating effects of the weather then, I didn’t hold out much hope. O, ye of little faith!
Our students boarded the mini bus excited and looking forward to the pilgrimage and by ten o clock we were on our way. We had warned them that they were in for a long journey but they were intrepid travellers. We made our first stop at Hartshead Moor and they shot out of the bus keen to sample the wares Subway had to offer. Back in the mini bus we sallied forth to arrive in Walsingham just before five o clock. There was much ooh-ing and ah-ing over their rooms: they were delighted to find towels and a kitchen and sitting area. Six o clock came and back on the bus to go to Wells-Next- the – Sea for fish and chips. The amount was overwhelming!
A few games of Connect 4, Say What You See and Monopoly were the order of the night and then bed at ten. Nobody complained; all were thoroughly tired out even Peter and Jamie, our two live wires!
Breakfast the next morning in the Refectory was another cause for wonderment.
‘We can go back for seconds? Really?’
The weather was dry so I made enquiries about the Pilgrim Way. Yes, we could use it but, we would have to come back the same way as the road, the Holy Mile, was flooded. So we set off cheerfully. The fact that we were following a railway line highly delighted Harry who is ‘into’ railways. We prayed the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary as we walked with representative from then both Staff and students leading the prayers. It seemed so appropriate given the joy of the students. Arriving at the old Slipper Chapel, we prepared for Holy mass. Traditionally, pilgrims stopped and heard mass before shedding their shoes to walk the Pilgrim’s Way into Walsingham. The Chapel is tiny as our two altar servers, Michael and Joseph, found but they did a brilliant job. Antonia and Harry did the readings and the solemnity with which they read affected the others. At the end of Mass, we folded our petitions and placed them in the box in front of the altar, confident that our prayers for school, family and an end to hunger in the world would be prayed for in subsequent masses. It was a moving experience.
They invaded the Shrine Shop and spent their all then we went across the green to the Church of Reconciliation inspecting the Stations of the Cross as they went. Another group were having mass there so we just had a peek.
We visited the Statue of Our Lady in the garden. In June, it was under water but today, we could admire the statue and reflect on our pilgrimage. Demi was very impressed by the Rosaries people had left there.
Walking back to Walsingham, we took time out to visit St Seraph’s, the Russian chapel built in what was the ticket master’s office before Dr. Beeching closed the station. We admired the beautiful icons and craned our necks to see if we could spot where the tabernacle was through the traditional screens.
Then we went back to Wells-next-the-Sea and into the small arcade there where the students had fun winning some very curious prizes- even Demi! – if they were lucky. Then it was back to Walsingham and a visit to the Anglican Church where a replica of the Holy House is now. Then, it was Games in our accommodation before bed.
Wednesday dawned and we had to pack and go and have a last breakfast. Was it only 48 hours since we left Liverpool?
We went to Mass in the Church of the Annunciation and were thrilled when our own Father Ruszniak concelebrated. It made two occasions when we felt really connected. They asked us if we would do the Offertory and Antonia and Jo stepped in immediately. It was a nice ending to our pilgrimage.
The people of Walsingham took these students from Liverpool to their hearts. They gave our children little booklets about Walsingham. After Mass, they chatted to our students and Michael was even spotted instructing a nun on the usage of the Rosary!
We set off home with demands for next year ringing in our ears.
Like I said, the Walsingham magic had done its work.
In more ways than one.
Our Lady must have heard about my apprehension weatherwise – it was brilliant sunshine the whole time!