This reflection on the St Matthew's Way of the Pilgrimage of Hope was given by Catherine Manghan, a perpetual pilgrim, at the Cathedral of St Barnabas on 13th September 2025. A video of all four reflections can be found here.

We walked 210 miles over 17 days with 2 rest days from Cardiff to Nottingham. We crossed two countries, nine counties and visited 18 parishes, staying in 16 of them. It has felt as if there was a string of fire that was just a spark when we started and built slowly but surely, inflaming each parish, and each parish fuelling us and speeding us on our way. Each connection filled us with increasing hope, joy, laughter and fellowship. Often we would arrive to anxious faces of people who had worked hard to ensure a warm reception for us and had been waiting for us to arrive for a while! But as we left after wonderful hospitality, every face was glowing with love and laughter. Each day was entire unto itself with a structure, enabling day pilgrims, hopefully to feel a sense of accomplishment and belonging for the time they were with us. Every day was the same and yet every day was completely different. The pilgrims for that day brought with them a dynamic and a new community. 

We shared and exchanged roles every day. The structure of the day began with a briefing from the leader, followed by a warm up and then prayer before we set off. The back marker checking route and pace and herding in stragglers was nearly as vital as the leader navigating, and the comms person took videos and pictures which were turned into an Instagram videos each night. Faith set up this practice for us and the abject panic, when she had to leave halfway through, soon morphed into a sense of accomplishment as she tutored us through using “Youcut” to create. Joe wrote blogs for the Birmingham archdiocese along the way which sensitively captured the mood and essence of our experience, when the rest of us were too present to reflect at all. I loved the fellowship we slid into as a team, enjoying each other’s company but moving outwards to welcome in day pilgrims when they arrived each day. It needed very little direction as we all seemed to be guided by the same spirits of compassion, faith, prayer and community. 

The gift of our country unfurled as we walked. The big skies and coastal walk of the Severn estuary were with us for the first two days. We were sent on our way with a Mass and blessing at the Cathedral in Cardiff, joined by the Catenians from Newport and welcomed by Deacon Richard and Roz and the ladies of the parish in Caldicott and enjoyed our first night all together in the parish hall. The luxury of taking over the Presbytery in Chepstow, as Fr James was in Ghana came next, and another beautiful Mass. Offa’s Dyke brought the hilliest day of the trip and a biblical downpour of rain, much singing and laughing, followed by steaming fields and glittering leaves. We walked down to the ancient Marches city of Monmouth in the sunshine again to a welcoming Mass, and were whisked off to steaming showers and cake and tea in a rambling country house where we all stayed together, filling Mary and Charles’ house again with the laughter and chat of a large, happy family. Mary joined us winding our way up and down the hills of the Wye valley, glimpsing Tintern Abbey, stopping for coffee in Symond’s Yat. 

On through the mysterious Forest of Dean to overwhelming hospitality again in Ross on Wye with Therese and David and another Mass from Fr Nick to send us on our way the next morning. Herefordshire orchards, laden and bursting with fruit followed accompanied among others, by Srs Lilly and Agneska from the Poor Clares at Much Birch. Used to 20 mile marches for exercise, our gentle pace and constant stops for drinks, food and chat, met with amused derision from Sr Agneska, a tall and capable Kiwi, the future of her order in the UK, no doubt. A day of rest and fellowship in Ledbury, was much needed after 6 days of walking. Jordan had mobilised Churches Together to house us and bring us together for breakfast with Methodist minister Phil and his wife Caroline, and a supper in the hall with forty people. We enjoyed exploring Ledbury, swimming in the pool to ease our muscles and Dave managed to recruit further interest for the dinner that night by praying the rosary in the sauna. Jim also bore great witness to joy, service and availability by pulling out his pennywhistle to busk whenever a moment arose. 

The Malvern hills beckoned, and our climb rewarded by a clear view of where we had come from and the journey ahead and, of course, ice cream at British Camp. It was great fun to meet the vibrant community at Malvern and hear about excellent parish wide mission and development from Simon and Alice, antique clockmakers and hosts extraordinaire. We spent a noisy night on the floor of the community hall at Worcester, which is in the centre of the city but we befriended Wetherspoons and relived student days when we had to climb back in to the compound after dark. I had a chance to share our story with a wonderfully kind parishioner who had picked up my hat and umbrella, left in a churchyard near Lydbury and brought it back with her to her home in Worcester. I very much enjoyed homemade elderflower cordial and sharing our experiences of faith communities. 

Stopping at the brilliantly mosaiced Church of the Sacred Heart and St Catherine of Alexandria in Droitwich Spa which iscovered in breathtaking mosaics and awaiting UNESCO Heritage Site status, we were shown round by an erudite Knight of Malta. The following day, our grand traverse of Birmingham canals began, with us popping up for a guided tour around the Birmingham Oratory and St John Henry Newman relics, and we venerated St Chad’s relics at the Cathedral, brought forth by Fr Chris who gave us a wonderful blessing. Equally blessed by the sunny hosts of the Beten charity Coffee Shop and cinnamon buns to die for. Continuing along canals under Spaghetti junction, which was peaceful, with clear running water of hidden rivers merging with the canals, out into middle England, and on to Harbourne. At Sutton Coldfield we were welcomed by the Anglican vicar and her team at The Holy Trinity Church and hall. Wetherspoons and fantastic ice cream again resulted in a better sleep than expected. Continuing on to Lichfield to the Holy Cross Catholic Church, we were all taken in by Lil and Mark and their son Michael for 2 days here and treated like family. We had lovely chats over meals, and enjoyed Mass in the morning, then took in Lichfield Cathedral and were interviewed by Theresa Alessandro for the podcast “All Kinds of Catholics”. Then to Burton on Trent, where Fr Matthew gave us tea and transferred us and bags, and the following day Long Eaton along the canals, enjoying a much overlooked treasure of bird life and weeping willow. Hedgerows were bowed down by a year of plenty, sloe and hawthorn, damson, apple and bramble, hazel, and chestnut. We grazed as we went, grateful for fresh, juicy, free food, to offset salty nuts and energy bars. Deacon Chris and his lovely wife made dinner for us and blessed us on our final leg to Nottingham. This was a short and joyful entry into the promised land with many day pilgrims, including Anne, a professor of Pilgrimage from Oxford who had accompanied us most of the way. 

We were blessed with wonderful weather for the most part. One phrase from scripture which kept coming into my mind “pressed down, shaken together, running over”. We felt that we were being blessed every day with the people that we met. We were meeting God in the people we met. We were meeting God in creation and we were meeting God in the silence. It was suggested to me to talk about the best time, the funniest time and the holiest time. For us the holiest time every day was the after lunch period of silence. Sometimes we would pray with the senses, sometimes we would share prayer intentions and we carried all the intentions of the people we had met with us. 

We had a wonderful time. Everywhere we went was full of joy and full of inclusivity, everyone was welcome and we were all brothers and sisters. Every moment was a best time. We laughed a lot about absolutely nothing, all the time. A limerick to thank Phil McCarthy because it was his inspiration which brought us here. He organised the whole thing. He keeps very quiet when he is with you, but behind that unassuming visage, is a powerhouse of organisation and attention to detail. He left no stone unturned to make sure the pilgrimage was safe, inclusive and well communicated, so thank you Phil. 

There was a young pilgrim of Hope,

Who was blessed, for his pains, by the Pope.

He crossed England and Wales, 

To prove that love never fails,

When compassion and courage elope. 

Catherine Manghan

Post icon photo © Mazur/cbcew.org.uk

More about the St Matthew's Way route can be found below