Our Lady Of Christendom

More than 20,000 pilgrims walked from Paris to Chartres this Pentecost. Now the UK has launched its own version. Inspired by the famous Chartres pilgrimage, Our Lady of Christendom will lead pilgrims from Oxford to Evesham Abbey, the site of the first recorded apparition of Our Lady in England This year’s Pentecost weekend marked the 44th annual Notre-Dame de Chrétienté pilgrimage, where more than 20,000 pilgrims made the journey on foot from Paris to Chartres. With an average age of 22 and hundreds of priests and religious accompanying the pilgrims, Notre-Dame de Chrétienté has become associated with a revival of Catholic worship and devotion to the traditional liturgy of the Church. Although most pilgrims are French, the Notre-Dame de Chrétienté pilgrimage has attracted participants from abroad since its founding in 1982. Witnessing the energy and vitality the pilgrimage brings to those who take part, many have returned to their home countries seeking to establish similar routes. Now the UK has organised its own. Organised by the apostolate Our Lady of Christendom, the pilgrimage begins at St Gregory and St Augustine’s in Oxford, a parish renowned for its reverent celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass in a city where the ancient rite is already well represented. Pilgrims will then walk through the Cotswolds, camping for two nights before arriving at the ruins of Evesham Abbey on the third day. Evesham is the site of the earliest recorded Marian apparition in England, where, according to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to a pig keeper named Eof. The apparition led St Ecgwine, Bishop of Worcester, to found a monastery on the site, which grew into Evesham Abbey and became an important centre of Marian pilgrimage. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s, most of the abbey was destroyed, although the bell tower survives today. The origins of the pilgrimage can be traced to a one-day pilgrimage held last year from Tewkesbury Abbey, the of the UK’s second-oldest Marian apparition, to the ruins of Evesham Abbey. A Dominican Rite Sung Mass was offered at The Immaculate Conception and St Egwin’s Catholic Church in Evesham, and the pilgrimage carried relics of St Mary Margaret Alacoque and St Claude de la Colombière, linking participants spiritually with Chartres. Last year’s pilgrims pray before the relics of St Mary Margaret Alacoque and St Claude de la Colombière Organisers hope the pilgrimage will contribute to the restoration of the Kingdom of Christ in the UK and foster devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The initiative comes at a time of growing interest in Catholicism across the UK. Westminster has recorded a 100 per cent increase in adult baptisms over the past two years, while the Oxford Oratory received more adults into the Church this February than during the whole of the previous year. By bringing together Catholics for three days of prayer, penance and pilgrimage, organisers hope to build on that renewed interest and encourage a deeper commitment to the faith. The pilgrimage’s president, Andrea Cabanas, attributes its existence to divine providence, telling AdVaticanum that it is “only through God’s Providence that ‘Our Lady of Christendom Pilgrimage’ exists today”. She said organisers have received support from “both Chartres and Covadonga pilgrimages”, as well as from their chaplain and local faithful who have donated and prayed for the pilgrimage’s success. She added that organisers have placed particular trust in the intercession of St Joseph, St John Henry Newman and Blessed Dominic Barberi. Cabanas is encouraging others to get involved, asking people to “support and volunteer with their God-given gifts in the restoration of the Kingdom of Christ here in Britain, especially those who live in this country and have been attending Chartres pilgrimage for many years”. Those wishing to attend this year’s pilgrimage have until 19 June to register via the pilgrimage website . Priests and religious are invited to attend free of charge, and priests will be able to celebrate their own private Masses during the pilgrimage.