On Sunday 17th May, Dominican friars, sisters and laity came together, along with friends and parishioners, to Walsingham for the annual Dominican Pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Our Lady in the little Norfolk village where she appeared to Richeldis in 1061. The Pilgrimage is an opportunity for us to commend the work of the Order to the protection of Mary, our Patroness, and to seek her prayers for our families and friends. It is also a chance for Dominicans from around the country to spend time together as the Dominican family, and in the pilgrimage to engage in a common act of the praising, blessing and preaching to which we are all called.
The day began with Mass at the Catholic Shrine, situated outside the village and incorporating the mediaeval Slipper Chapel, where pilgrims traditionally removed their shoes to walk the last mile into Walsingham barefoot: some of our pilgrims kept up this tradition on the Rosary Procession into the village which followed a picnic lunch that we had enjoyed sharing together, despite the wet weather. The rain finished before the start of the procession, though, and the sun even came out as we walked the Holy Mile, led by the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham which was carried by teams of friars and university students from Leicester and Cambridge, where there are Dominican chaplains.
Vespers and Benediction in the Parish Church of the Annunciation concluded the day, after an opportunity for tea and time to explore the village, and its various churches and shrines, Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox. Those who would be interested in joining us next year can already put Sunday 16th May 2010 in their diaries: more details should be available from Dominican priories in April.
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