9th August 2023

Dear friend

Welcome to the Summer newsletter from the Hearts in Search of God Project. 

Today we remember Edith Stein, who became St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She was a Jewish philosopher whose journey through life led her through conversion to Christianity to becoming a Carmelite Sister and finally to Auschwitz where she was killed in the gas chamber 81 years ago today. She wrote a wonderful prayer, which may be of encouragement to pilgrims:

O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage, and strength to serve You.

Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the

next stretch of road before me.

I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the

horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before me,

and I shall meet it with peace.

The aim of the Hearts in Search of God Project is to promote walking pilgrimage in England & Wales by developing Pilgrim Ways between the twenty-two Catholic cathedrals and one or more shrines in the same diocese. Here are some of the latest developments.

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, Clifton, Hallam, Lancaster, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Northampton and Southwark. 

The latest Way is for the Archdiocese of Westminster and the Ukrainian Eparchy of Great Britain. The route is from Westminster Cathedral to the Ukrainian Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile and the shrines of the Blessed Sacrament, the Tyburn Martyrs, Our Lady of the Rosary and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Willesden. The walk is 14.5 miles long and takes about 6 hours. The route is full of interest and history. Details can be found here. 

I have also walked the Ways in the Dioceses of Brentwood, Birmingham and Cardiff and full walking directions will be published soon.

Resources

On the Resources pages you will find practical help with preparing to walk and organising a group pilgrimage as well as downloadable pilgrim passports and certificates of completion.

Going Deeper

Professor Gavin D'Costa has generously contributed an article to the Project’s ‘Going Deeper’ series examining the metaphor of the 'pilgrim people of God' and explaining its relevance to the Church today. His article starts with the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus and takes us right through to the current synodal process, perhaps the biggest consultation exercise in the history of humanity. His article can be found here. 

News, Events & Stories

The 2025 Jubilee: 'Pilgrims of Hope'

2025 will be a Holy Year, a special year of grace beginning just before Christmas 2024 and ending on the Feast of the Epiphany in January 2026. The Pope will inaugurate the Year by opening the Holy Door in St Peter's Basilica after which the Holy Doors in the other great Roman basilicas will be opened. It is estimated that over 30 million people will travel to Rome during the year. There will be Holy Doors in cathedrals in England & Wales as well, so perhaps you could make a greener choice and undertake a walking pilgrimage to one to mark the Holy Year? 

Walking pilgrimage to Glastonbury

Eleven pilgrims set off for a three-day ecumenical walking pilgrimage from Clifton Cathedral to join the Clifton Diocesan Pilgrimage at Glastonbury over the 7th to 9th July 2023. They feasted on fish and chips in a 15th Century courtyard, crossed the Mendips in torrential rain, climbed to the site of a martyrdom and arrived just in time for Mass with Bishop Declan in the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey! Read the story here.

The News, Events & Stories page is where you can also find blogs on the Augustine Camino from Rochester to Ramsgate in Kent by Andrew Kelly, and where Krishna Sen describes setting out for Rome from Canterbury as an agnostic, brought up in an Indian-Bengali Hindu cultural context.

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.

If you have a story or a resource to share please contact me through the website. 

Please share this newsletter with people who may be interested. I hope you enjoy the website, designed by the wonderful team at Everyday Christian Marketing.

Wishing you every blessing. I hope you enjoy the rest of the summer. 

Phil McCarthy, Project Lead