Pilgrims to Rome Virtual Conference

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Pilgrims to Rome Virtual Conference

Phil McCarthy • Mar 13, 2024

I'm looking forward to taking part in the Pilgrims to Rome Virtual Conference on Sunday 17th April at 8pm.

Dawn Champion, head of community engagement at the British Pilgrimage Trust, will speak on preparing for pilgrimage and walking alone.

David Andrews, ecologist and adviser for Natural England will be presenting on 'Why walk the Via Francigena'.

I will be speaking about ‘Life after the Via Francigena’. In 2008 I walked the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome alone and in 2015 I walked on from Rome to Istanbul. These experiences awakened an interest in pilgrimage and led to me starting the Hearts in Search of God project. I have written books about both pilgrimages.

The presentations will be followed by Q&A discussion with the three speakers and the conference hosts Eamonn Mullally and Alex Knox.

You can register for the event below.

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Rowan Morton-Gledhill describes the first pilgrimage for vocations in the Diocese of Leeds, in the footsteps of GK Chesterton and Fr Brown!

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By Gerard Bonner • 07 May, 2024

Gerard Bonner describes the first pilgrimage along the Three Altars Way in the Diocese of Hallam.

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By Phil McCarthy • 29 Apr, 2024

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A Pilgrimage Taster Day Walk in Sussex for Young People

By John Chenery • 16 Apr, 2024

You are invited to join a pilgrimage taster day walk in Sussex for young people organised by the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton Ecumenical Walking Pilgrimage. NB This is not an event for existing A&B walking pilgrims. Rather we want existing pilgrims to encourage a younger generation to take part. The details are as follows: Walk for Young People aged 16 plus Saturday 25th May 2024 Start and finish at St Wilfred's Church, South Rd, Hailsham, BN27 3JG 09.30 Registration 10.00 Start walk 12.30 Prayers/lunch St Pancras, Arlington 14.00 Michelham Priory 16.00 Arrive St Wilfred’s Church Hall 16.30 Prayers and depart Please bring a packed lunch and wear suitable clothes and footwear. For more info email garyobrien4@yahoo.co.u

The Holywell Way is ready to walk!

By Phil McCarthy • 15 Apr, 2024

The Holywell Way is a Pilgrim Way for the Diocese of Wrexham from the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows in Wrexham to the National Shrine of St Winefride at Holywell. St Winefride’s Well is believed to be the only British shrine that has a history of uninterrupted pilgrimage from the Middle Ages to the present day. The Way is north from the Cathedral to join the Wat's Dyke Way which then passes through a valley beside the River Alyn to the villages of Caergwrle and Hope. After 10 miles the Pilgrim Way diverges from the Wat's Dyke Way to visit the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary in Buckley, re-joining the Wat’s Dyke Way just over a mile after this. On leaving the village of Sychdyn the Wat's Dyke Way diverts from the line of the Dyke to take in a Celtic hill fort at Rhosesmor. The Pilgrim Way takes a more direct route, but the two paths coincide again shortly before crossing the A55 North Wales Expressway. After this the path follows an impressive section of the Dyke. The Way ends at the Shrine of St Winefride in Holywell, but pilgrims may wish to walk on to Basingwerk Abbey, the ruins of a C12 Cistercian monastery (1.0 miles). This is the start of the North Wales Pilgrim’s Way.