If this were a present day headline, it would be both eye-catching and shocking. Particularly as we head towards the Year of Jubilee 2025 with its theme of being ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.
But it did happen in England 1538, when Henry VIII’s Chief Minister, Thomas Cromwell, shaped an Act of Parliament to ban pilgrimages.
In some places the ban worked, the Shrines of St Thomas of Canterbury and Our Lady of Doncaster were destroyed.
But elsewhere the tradition of pilgrimages to shrines survived and flourished, as at ‘St Winefrides’s (Gwenfrewi’s) Shrine’, at Holywell in Wales. It was declared the Welsh ‘National Shrine’ in November 2023.
Fr Philip Fletcher, of the ‘Guild of Our Lady of Ransom’, restored the first, post reformation pilgrimage at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in 1897. Fr (Canon) Oswald Dolan of St Marie’s Sheffield, called on the support of the Guild, in the first official pilgrimage to the ‘Padley Martyrs’ Chapel’ Grindleford in 1898. The ‘Shrine of Our Lady of Doncaster’ had been renewed in 1868.
A significant boost to the tradition of Catholic pilgrimages, has come from ‘Hearts in Search of God’ project, led by Phil McCarthy. It has identified or established, a Pilgrimage route in each of the 22 dioceses of England and Wales. The Diocese of Hallam’s pilgrimage route is the ‘Padley Martyrs’ Way’.
The tradition of ‘walking prayer’ is deeply embedded in the history of Christian civilisation. In England it has survived legislative ‘bans’ and in 2024 is vibrant and flourishing, as in the 2024 Year of Prayer. we walk towards the 2025 Jubilee ‘Year of Hope’ as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.
The Hallam Diocese’s ‘Pilgrim Passport’ will soon be available, with more information.
Gerard Bonner
