The Birmingham Pilgrim Way is ready to walk!
The St Chad's Way is a Pilgrim Way for the Archdiocese of Birmingham from the Metropolitan Cathedral of St Chad in central Birmingham to the new Shrine of St Chad in Lichfield Cathedral. The Way was suggested by Deacon Owen Gresty and has been researched and walked by Hearts in Search of God Project Lead Phil McCarthy.
St Chad of Mercia was a Seventh Century Anglo-Saxon monk who became abbot of several monasteries, then Bishop of the Northumbrians and later of the Mercians. His work and life were recorded by the Venerable Bede. He is credited, with his brother St Cedd, with introducing Christianity to the Mercian Kingdom. He died on 2nd March 672, and he is also remembered on 26th October with his brother, St Cedd.
After leaving St Chad's Cathedral the Way follows the Grand Union Canal Walk, the towpath of the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal and briefly the Tame Valley Canal. The Way passes the Church of St Margaret Mary at Perry Common, then Oscott College and the Church of St Nicholas in Boldmere. It then crosses Sutton Park Nature Reserve to reach Sutton Coldfield and the Church of the Holy Trinity. The Way leads north through quiet countryside to join the Heart of England Way and reach St Chad's Well and the Shrine of St Chad in Lichfield's Anglican Cathedral. At St Chad's Well the Way connects with the 92 mile long Two Saints Way which celebrates the memory of St Werburgh & St Chad, and takes pilgrims on to Chester.
The Shrine of St Chad in Lichfield Cathedral was a place of pilgrimage and prayer for centuries, but in 1538 it was destroyed on the orders of Henry VIII. A box of the saint’s bones was saved, and this passed through a series of Catholic owners. Since 1840 they have been enshrined above the high altar of St Chad's Cathedral in Birmingham. 484 years after the destruction of the original shrine a new Shrine of St Chad was installed at Lichfield Anglican Cathedral, housing a relic of the saint moved from St Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham. It was consecrated in an ecumenical service in November 2022. At the service Archbishop Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham, said:
“Perhaps St Chad’s own preference for traveling on foot teaches us something else today. Walking is the way of the pilgrim, and it gave St Chad time to consider and to reflect on what he saw as he met people along the way…. Perhaps St Chad recalled St Luke’s account of the road to Emmaus as the risen Jesus walked unrecognised with the two disciples before they saw him in the breaking of bread. Such journeys allow the time for deeper conversations, listening to one another and growing in friendship through accompaniment.”
Highlights of the Way include AWN Pugin's Cathedral of St Chad, the serene St Chad's Well in Lichfield, and the magnificent Lichfield Cathedral with its the stunning new Shrine of St Chad.
Full details of the Way, including the inner and outer ways notes and walking guidance can be found on the Archdiocese of Birmingham's page on this website: just click on the button below.
