Pray for the Pope, for England

by Joanna Bogle

Walsingham is England’s national shrine to Our Lady, and a major place of pilgrimage and prayer. It is in Norfolk, a few miles from the North Sea, and is a small village set in the green countryside characteristic of this corner of Britain. The shrine dates back to the 12^th century, when the local lady of the manor, Richeldis, had a vision of the Holy House – the home of the Holy family at Nazareth – on this spot. For centuries, pilgrims visited here and Our Lady of Walsingham was honoured with countless processions and prayers. Springs of water – they still exist today – were said to have healing powers. A great priory drew men who devoted themselves to the religious life. At the shrine itself, the image was always surrounded by candles, flowers, and gifts left by grateful pilgrims who had knelt there in prayer.

In the early 16^th century, among those who came were the young king Henry, and his wife Catherine. They were praying that God would grant them a son. England had seen terrifying wars in an earlier generation as the houses of Lancaster and York battled out their struggle for supremacy, and now stability was needed for the new ruling house of Tudor. It was not to be. Catherine bore several children, but all died in infancy except one daughter, Mary. Henry, angry and disappointed, decided to marry his mistress Anne Boleyn. He sought an annulment of his marriage through the Church, but failed to obtain it. Divorcing Catherine unilaterally, he married Anne – who by then was carrying his child – and announced himself head of the Church. The Lord Chancellor, Thomas More, and the Bishop of Rochester, John Fisher, were beheaded at the Tower of London in 1534 for refusing to affirm him in his claims, maintaining instead that only the Pope, the successor of Saint Peter, could hold that office. . Needing funds, Henry turned on the Church and crushed monasteries and priories. On the excuse of its being idolatrous, the shrine at Walsingham was destroyed and the statue burned. For some 400 years, there were no more pilgrimages, processions, or signs of devotion to Mary in this quiet village.

The shrine was revived in the early 20^th century – an Anglican vicar researched the history and re-created the Holy House in a new shrine, and a Catholic lady obtained the old “Slipper Chapel” just outside the village and this became the revived Catholic centre of devotion. Today, there are pilgrimages throughout the summer and the Catholic shrine has its own large church built of attractive local stone. Pilgrims pray and sing  as they walk the “Holy Mile” – traditionally barefoot – from the village. Schools, parish groups, Catholic organisations – all come with their banners and their choirs, their sandwiches and their children, to greet Our Lady at a place which combines the pleasures of unusually beautiful countryside with an atmosphere of real devotion and joy. Some groups stay for days – a local farmer rents out fields in which  large groups of young pilgrims and families can camp – and in recent years Walsingham has seen a revival of Eucharistic adoration and confession, promoted by “Youth 2000,” a major initiative of the “John Paul 11 generation.”

When Pope John Paul visited Britain in 1982 the image of Our Lady of Walsingham was brought to London where it was the centrepiece of a major rally attended by the Holy Father. Many Catholic families, churches and schools, have copies of the image: it is an unusual one in which Mary is seen seated, as a dignified queen wearing a simple Saxon-style crown and carrying the Christ-child seated upright on her lap. Honour to Our Lady of Walsingham is linked to prayer that the people of England may once again return to the practice of the Catholic Faith: Our Lady of Walsinghan, pray for us!

Prayer for England

O Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of God
and our most gentle Queen and Mother
look down with mercy upon England your Dowry, and upon us all who greatly hope and trust in you.
By you it was that Jesus
Our Saviour and our hope,
was given to the world:
and he has given you to us
that we may hope still more.
Plead for us your children,
whom you did receive at the foot of the cross, O sorrowful Mother, Intercede for our separated brethren, that with us in the one true fold they may be united to the Chief Shepherd, the Vicar of your Son.
Pray for us all, Dear Mother,
that by faith fruitful in good works
we may all deserve to see and praise God, together with you in our heavenly home. Amen

Comments

[Ruth Lasseter]

How beautiful! Thank you so much. Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for the Holy Father and for the people of Great Britain that they may hear and believe. Amen.

[Joan d'Arc]

I went solo on a pilgrimage to Walsingham. Once in the village, I came upon a parish group and joined them in walking the pilgirm's dirt path to the Slipper Chapel, praying the rosary as we walked. I knelt in meditation for a long time in that chapel! Walsingham is now one of my favorite places in the whole world. It is filled with God's grace!

[Miriam]

The ruins of the original abbey, which was destroyed by Henry VIII, is a haunting sight. I believe it's under the jurisdiction of a Protestant group, which collects a fee for you to enter the grounds. A huge stone arch, about 100 feet high, that I believe used to frame the east-facing window, towers over the grassy area. It's heartbreaking.

The Slipper Chapel, a mile away down a country road, is a wonderful place.

Much of England is so sad because its Catholic past is so poignantly present.