Welcome to the Easter 2024 Hearts in Search of God newsletter! The calvary in the photo above is outside the Church of the English Martyrs at Whalley on the Salford Pilgrim Way. It is a reminder of the journey we have been on through Lent. We are now in the Easter season: a time for celebration and (for pilgrims) for planning the year's walking. 

Online Conference! 

2024 is a year of preparation for the Holy Year of 2025 with its motto ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. On 20th May 2024 I will be chairing a conference to encourage and equip people, especially the young, to undertake group walking pilgrimage to mark the Holy Year. There will be input from experts in walking pilgrimages and from dioceses and Catholic organisations. You are welcome to join online. For more information and to register visit: Event programme and registration. 

Pilgrim Ways

There are now GPX files available for routes in all the dioceses of England & Wales and full walking directions in the dioceses of Arundel & Brighton, Birmingham, Brentwood all year and summer only, Cardiff, Clifton, East Anglia, Hallam, Lancaster North and South, Leeds, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Northampton, Nottingham, Plymouth, Salford, Southwark and Westminster. There are also Pilgrim Ways for the Ukrainian and Syro-Malabar eparchies and the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. 

The Wrexham Way has been walked and will be the next to be published. The Way ends at Shrine of St Winefride at Holywell which was established as a national shrine by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales in November 2023. It also featured in the first episode of the current BBC pilgrimage series.
 
Resources
These include resources for group pilgrimage, pilgrim passports and certificates of completion. There is a webpage for people who would like to add to the significance of their pilgrimage by raising money to help others. 

Going deeper 
Articles on the ‘Going Deeper’ webpages provide context and expert background to pilgrimage. The latest is by:
•  Frans A Vossenberg, on his family’s pilgrimage along the Cornish Celtic Catholic Way. 

I am grateful to Frans and the others who have contributed their time and expertise to the project website. 

News, Stories & Events
Thanks to all those who have contributed stories over the last few months. Topics include:
•  Gerard Boner on pilgrimage to Padley Chapel in the Hope Valley 
•  Kate Macpherson on the John Bradburne Memorial Society’s 2024 Cross Fell pilgrimage which will be held on 8th June. 

I have also written about:
•  An ecumenical and interfaith pilgrimage in Cardiff.
•  The importance of open church doors for Together for the Common Good. 

I was delighted to take part in the 2024 Pilgrims to Rome conference. A recording of the virtual conference can be found here: Pilgrims to Rome online conference 

Feedback on the Ways 
I would be grateful for any feedback you have about the proposed Ways, and to hear of your experience of walking them. Don’t forget to download your certificate of completion. If you have a story or a pilgrim resource or event to share, please contact me through the website.

 
Wishing you every blessing of the Easter season, and buen camino! 
 
Phil McCarthy, Project Lead