Walsingham Pilgrimage 2025, St Giles Parish Journey of Faith and Fellowship

In the warmth of early July, a group of pilgrims from St Giles Parish in Reading set out for Walsingham, a place long cherished in the English Christian imagination. Leaving the familiar stones of our own church behind, we journeyed together to the Shrine of Our Lady, where Mary appeared to Richeldis of Faverches, asking her to build a replica of the Holy House of Nazareth, the childhood home of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. A house marked by love and sanctuary.

We arrived in the quiet of the afternoon and gathered for the first time as a parish in the Holy House itself, now housed within the shrine’s grounds. Over the following days, we walked the Stations of the Cross in the garden, held a devotion before the relic of the True Cross, and took part in the Pilgrims’ Mass—each step deepening our sense of shared prayer and purpose.

In the afternoon, the seaside town of Cromer offered a gentle contrast: the sound of waves, the laughter of children catching crabs, the simplicity of shops and sand. That evening, we joined the great procession to Our Lady, where some received the sacrament of reconciliation, others sought healing through the laying on of hands. The day closed not with solemnity, but with laughter and fellowship at the Norton Bar.

On Sunday morning, we visited the local parish church—a place tied to the early revival of the Walsingham tradition. Returning to the shrine, we wandered through abbey, grounds, gathered for photographs, and listened to a few voices share what the pilgrimage had meant to them. These voices are in this video. The final act was one of blessing: the sprinkling with water from the holy well, Benediction, and a last quiet devotion before the Holy House.

We packed our belongings and began the return to Reading, not unchanged, but renewed—carrying with us something of the stillness, the mystery, and the companionship we found on the way. On getting home we all came to realise something very special had evolved over the weekend

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