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.
