Holy Family Leicester consists of the churches of Sacred Heart with St Margaret Mary; Our Lady of Good Counsel; and St Josephs. A group of about 50 parishioners of all ages met after the regular 10.15am Mass at Our Lady’s. We put on our new purple parish high vis jackets, had a blessing from Fr Vitalis, then we took up the Pilgrim Cross, which had been borrowed from Midland Leg of Pilgrim Cross.



The annual Pilgrim Cross pilgrimage to Walsingham starts on the Friday evening before Palm Sunday, Sacred Heart church is hosting the Midland and Kettering groups, before they set off walking 100-120 miles carrying the full size cross over 7 days, arriving in Walsingham in Norfolk on Good Friday, meeting the other legs who start from London (since 1948!) Oxford, Nottingham (Northern), Ely (3 days), Easter (one day) plus the increasing numbers of family and teenage legs (4 this year). There is even an on-line X-leg! At Walsingham the Pilgrim Cross gathering to celebrate the liturgies of Good Friday and Holy Saturday vigil (in the Roman Catholic tradition), then acknowledging the ecumenical nature of the pilgrimage, Easter Sunday is an Anglican service, often celebrated outside.

Our leader was Deacon Seamus O’Looskan, who together with parishioners Christina and David Mottram has walked originally Student Cross (now Pilgrim Cross pilgrimage) over many years and different ‘legs’- since 1977 in Christina’s case, as a student.

The cross is carried flat, by three people at a time, with regular changeovers, and prayers. We were walking on pavements, through shopping streets and main roads, so we were a noticeable walk of witness through multicultural Leicester. On our way some people prayed the Rosary, or sang hymns, and we got to chat people of different ages and backgrounds from our three diverse parishes.

When we arrived at Sacred Heart, we left the cross in front of the altar, prayed ‘We adore you O Christ and we praise you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world’, then were welcomed with drinks, and we ate our packed lunch for a short break. Some people finished then, others joined us for the next part of the walk, to St Joseph’s church (located at the top of a hill- a bit of a challenge for some), where we had photos, enjoyed the garden, and other facilities, and the pilgrimage concluded with Stations of the Cross. This will be where the local church community will start their Palm Sunday service.

This walk of witness was aimed at young people, but was open to anyone who could manage the 4-mile route. I am doing the 200km Cafod #BigLentWalk; and this contributed 15km (as we walked to the start point) - getting me close to my target. The parish also did a Cafod walk in Watermead Country Park in March, aiming to raise £1000. I will also be walking the one-day Easter Cross to meet fellow pilgrims in Walsingham with my husband David - we are serial pilgrims, and hope to join the local parts of the St Johns leg of Jubilee pilgrimage to Nottingham in September.

We were blessed with good weather that Sunday, we appreciated the beauty of our churches, and we even managed to arrive early at most places. It is now hoped to be a regular parish event on the 5th Sunday of Lent.

Christina Mottram is a parishioner of Holy Family, Leicester.

Photo credits Deacon Seamus O'Looskan