The Hearts in Search of God Easter newsletter

Phil McCarthy • April 9, 2026

Welcome to the Easter 2026 Hearts in Search of God project newsletter!

 

Project Patron

The Hearts in Search of God project is delighted to welcome Bishop Patrick McKinney, the tenth Bishop of Nottingham, as project patron. I am grateful for the support of the Bishops' Conference of England & Wales for his appointment. Bishop Patrick is a keen walker and was a great supporter of the 2025 Pilgrimage of Hope, walking one of the final stages with the pilgrims.

 

Walking the Via di Francesco for the St Francis Leprosy Guild

On 27th April 2026 I will set out from Florence to walk the Via di Francesco to Assisi and on to Rome. The walk is 322 miles long and very hilly! As a medical student in India I saw the devastating consequences of leprosy so I’m walking the Way of St Francis in the 800th anniversary of his death to raise funds for the St Francis Leprosy Guild. More information about the Via di Francesco and the work of the Guild can be found here.

 

Saturday 21st March 2026: The Spring Pilgrimage Gathering  

During the 2025 Jubilee with its theme ‘pilgrims of hope’ there was an upsurge of interest in walking pilgrimage in England and Wales. The Spring Gathering built on this. 60 people registered for the event and several more participated in the evening social event and Sunday morning pilgrim walk.

 

The Way of St Cuthbert

The day started with the first public screening of the film The Way of St Cuthbert followed by a panel discussion with historian Dr Anne E Bailey, filmmaker Christian Holden and educationalist Dr Jason Baxter. This wonderful film of a group of American students walking from Melrose to Lindisfarne is a 30-minute gem. You can download a copy for showing in public from www.saintant.com

 

Celebration of walking pilgrimage in England & Wales

We celebrated all that was achieved during the 2025 Jubilee and shared plans for 2026. 15 organisations contributed reports and details were gathered from the websites of another 7. Details can be found in the Spring Gathering update where you can download a full report of the day. We shared ideas for how we could work better together to promote and develop walking pilgrimage in England & Wales.

 

The Year of St Francis of Assisi

We shared ideas for pilgrimages for peace in this 800th anniversary year of the death of St Francis. All the ideas as well as a map and database of churches dedicated to St Francis and Franciscan communities can be found here. Why not organise a pilgrim walk in your parish on the feast day, Sunday 4th October?

 

Let us walk that we may adore

A proposal was made for a national walking pilgrimage in the week before the Adoremus Eucharistic Celebration on 10th -11th October 2026. There will be four Ways starting at Marian shrines and converging at the Metropolitan Cathedral of St George in Southwark on Friday 9th October for shared prayer. A small group of perpetual pilgrims will walk the full distance, joined by day pilgrims who will register for each day. More details can be found here. If you would like to be involved, please email me.


Companions on the Road

The latest companion organisation is Catholic People’s Weeks. Their mission is to revitalise the heart, mind and spirit of Catholic people today. This year CPW are walking the Augustine Camino, taking on the simple life of a pilgrim, visiting ancient churches, monasteries and shrines for blessings, prayers and Masses. They hope to offer an authentic Camino experience, with an expert guide and baggage transfer.

 

Hearts in Search of God project Steering Group

A Steering Group has been formed for the project. Our latest member is Joe Northam, a trailblazer and perpetual pilgrim on the Pilgrimage of Hope. Details of all the members of the Group can be found on here. We meet online about every six weeks. I am very grateful to them all for contributing their time and expertise. We continue to call on the wisdom of the project Advisory Panel as needed.

 

Upcoming Events

At the Spring Gathering a proposal was made for a shared walking pilgrimage calendar on www.pilgrimways.org.uk so that people can find events more easily and we can avoid clashes. This is under construction. If you are organising a group walking pilgrimage in England & Wales or a related event and would like it to be included, please contact me.

 

Resources

Shrines: I am grateful to Dr Anne E Bailey for details of several medieval shrines which either survived the Reformation or have been restored since, and where the saint’s relics can still be venerated. They include: St Alban at St Albans, St Bede the Venerable at Durham, St Bertram at Ilam, St Candida (St Wite) at Whitchurch Canonicorum, St Chad at Lichfield, St Cuthbert and St Oswald at Durham, St Eanswythe at Folkestone, St Edward the Confessor at Westminster Abbey, St Frideswide at Oxford, St Melangell at Pennant Melangell, St Thomas Cantilupe at Hereford, and St William at York. The webpage includes a map and details of these and other shrines.

 

Inspiration  

Thanks to all those who have contributed news and stories over the last few months. Topics include:


  • The Extreme Way of the Cross was started in Poland in 2009 by a young priest called Fr Jacek Stryczek. Today the initiative has been taken up by many tens of thousands of people in 20 countries across the world.
  • I was delighted to be invited to contribute a paper to the 2025 Lived Catholicism conference. I spoke on 'walking pilgrimage as an unsung site of synodality', but what on earth do I mean by that? Listen to the presentation to find out!
  • Walk the Augustine Camino with Catholic People's Weeks: Sunday, September 13, 2026 to Sunday, September 20, 2026!
  • You are invited to take part in the John Bradburne Pilgrimage Climb 2026, taking place on Saturday 13 June in the beautiful landscape of Cumbria.

 

The Diocesan Ways

The Pilgrim Way for the Diocese of Salford, the Way of St Theodore has been revised to include the Schoenstatt Shrine at Kearsley. The Way still starts at Salford Cathedral and ends at the St Theodore Centre at Stoneyhurst.

I would be grateful for any feedback you have about the Ways, and especially any route updates and changes. After your pilgrimage remember 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.

 

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

 

Wishing you every blessing and joy of Easter as we continue to walk as ‘pilgrims of hope’.

 

Buen camino!

 

Phil McCarthy, Project Lead

Leeds Walsingham Camino

By Rowan Gledhill-Morton • July 7, 2026
This September, a small band of pilgrims from Leeds and Hallam Dioceses will walk England’s longest way to Walsingham: the ‘Leeds Walsingham Way’!

A Franciscan Pilgrimage in the Diocese of Clifton

By Phil McCarthy • June 30, 2026
Join one of two walking pilgrimages to the Church of St Francis of Assisi in Nailsea to celebrate the Year of St Francis! 2026 marks 800 years since the death of St Francis of Assisi and Pope Leo XIV has declared a special Year to commemorate this. More about the Year can be found here . Francis was a pilgrim who undertook significant journeys to Rome, Santiago de Compostela and the Holy Land. He urged that all forms of hostility or conflict be avoided and that a humble and fraternal attitude be shown to those who did not share his faith. He had a great love of creation. The 3rd Ocober 2026 is exactly 800 years since St Francis died, and the day before his feast day. To mark this a walking pilgrimage is planned in the Diocese of Clifton on Saturday 3rd October with two legs: The Bristol leg will start at Clifton Cathedral at 10.30am and end at the Church of St Francis of Assisi in Nailsea at about 4.30pm (9.4 miles) The Clevedon leg will start at the Franciscan church of the Immaculate Conception in Clevedon at 1pm and end at the Church of St Francis of Assisi in Nailsea at about 4.30pm (6.4 miles) The two legs will convene at 4.30pm at St Francis' Church, Nailsea for refreshments and prayer. Those who wish can stay for the 6pm Vigil Mass for the Feast of St Francis on the following day (Sunday 4th October). Pilgrims are welcome to register to join for one or other of the legs. Walkers do so at their own risk. Children under 18 years old must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Pilgrims will be responsible for carrying their own food and drink and for arranging their own transport to the start and finish. Nailsea is well served by trains to Bristol and buses to Bristol and Clevedon. More details about the walks and how to register can be found below. You can also be part of the pilgrimage by praying for the success of the event and for the safety of pilgims. You can find other ideas to mark the day here .

The Bristol to Nailsea Leg

By Phil McCarthy • June 30, 2026
A Pilgrimage to commemorate the Year of St Francis of Assisi Saturday 3rd October 2026

The Clevedon to Nailsea Leg

By Phil McCarthy • June 30, 2026
A Pilgrimage to commemorate the Year of St Francis of Assisi Saturday 3rd October 2026

Walk the Augustine Camino for Mary's Meals!

By Phil McCarthy • June 29, 2026
Charity Pilgrimage for Mary’s Meals – Saturday 5th – Friday 11th September! This popular pilgrimage is returning for a second year. It is great fun and all in the cause of providing school meals for children in poor countries Mary’s Meals UK Charity – Helping to Feed Hungry Children Living in Poverty Worldwide | Mary’s Meals UK . It is a full guided pilgrimage and we are usually accompanied by a Catholic priest so that there is Mass and prayers each day. The costs are inclusive of accommodation, baggage transfers (for one medium sized bag each) and the guide. There are three options, £427 for shared rooms and sleeping on church floors where available, £538 for shared accommodation and £718 for single occupancy. A day by day blog of the last Mary’s Meals charity pilgrimage is available here Walking the Augustine Camino – by Roy Peachey (keep pressing next at the bottom of the page for subsequent days). Contact Andrew at camino@augustinecamino.co.uk for further details.

Pilgrimage to Assisi

By Eddie Gilmore • June 29, 2026
Hearts in Search of God collaborator Eddie Gilmore is leading a walking pilgrimage to Assisi from September 18 th - 26 th 2026! The group will spend a night in Florence, then travel to Città di Castello and walk for six days along the beautiful ‘Way of Francis.’ Contact Eddie for more information: gileag@gmail.com www.eddiegilmore.org

A Musical Pilgrimage along the Augustine Camino

By Eddie Gilmore • June 17, 2026
Eddie Gilmore found music and walking pilgrimage an enchanting combination!

Thank you for the support!

By Phil McCarthy • June 15, 2026
I am very grateful to those who encouraged me during my 322 mile walk along the Via di Francesco. A total of £3,332 was raised to support the work of the St Francis Leprosy Guild, equivalent to more than £10 per mile walked! Many thanks to the trustees of the Guild for their help with social media and with managing the process.

Arundel & Brighton Ecumenical Pilgrimage 2026

By John Chenery • June 5, 2026
All are welcome to join the Roses Walking Pilgrimage from Middlesbrough to Blackburn, 15th to 30th August 2026! The route links the cathedrals of Middlesbrough, Ripon and Blackburn, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary. We follow the lower Tees valley and Vale of York before crossing the Pennines and cutting through the Forest of Bowland, so expect some great scenery. There are rest days in Ripon and Skipton. The organisers are Diocese of Arundel and Brighton Ecumenical Walking Pilgrimages who have run an annual pilgrimage since 1975 in different parts of England and Wales. Come with us and experience walking as part of our travelling Christian community, whether for a fortnight or just an afternoon! The walk is guided and luggage is forwarded. The cost is £350 to walk with us all the way, or £33 per night to book a shorter spell. To find out more and book your place, visit http://www.thepilgrims.org.uk/book 

Walking the Via di Francesco

By Phil McCarthy • June 4, 2026
On 27th April I set out to walk from Florence to Assisi to Rome with two friends.