Dominican Pilgrimage to Walsingham

It has become customary for the Dominican family and friends to go on pilgrimage to Our Lady's Shrine at Walsingham on the third Sunday of May. This year, our new Provincial, fr John Farrell OP, joined us and preached at the Shrine Mass for the feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Following the Mass, we had a convivial lunch in the grounds of the Shrine and then walked in procession to the village while praying the Rosary and singing hymns. One of our novices, following an ancient custom, removed his shoes outside the 14th-century Slipper Chapel, and walked the Holy Mile barefoot. When we arrived in the village, there was some time to explore the village and pay an ecumenical visit to the Anglican shrine. We ended with sung Vespers, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction. 

Below are more photos from this event:



The brothers from Oxford outside the priory before the blessing of the pilgrims and coach that marked the start of the pilgrimage


Sr Miryam OP, who is chaplaincy assistant at the Cambridge University Catholic Chaplaincy, with students


The Provincial talking with Cambridge University students after the Mass


fr Martin OFM Cap with fr Thomas Skeats OP


fr Fabian Radcliffe OP and fr Leon Pereira OP, the new prior of Leicester, with students from the Leicester University chaplaincy


The novices lead the procession, bearing the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham to the village church






The Dominican 'Salve Regina' is sung outside the village church of the Annunciation


"The angel's greeting does not leave Mary at home ... She is propelled on a journey, which will take her to Elizabeth's home, to Bethlehem, to Egypt, to Jerusalem. It is a journey that will lead to her heart being pierced, and to the foot of the cross. It is a journey that will eventually carry her to heaven and glory ... So the Rosary is also the prayer for those who journey, of pilgrims ... it is a prayer of pilgrimage around the Order."

- fr Timothy Radcliffe OP