In 1925, three years after the Shrine of Our Lady
Walsingham was re-established in the Walsingham parish church of S.
Mary's, Fr Patten set up the Society of Our Lady of Walsingham in
order to keep in touch with the first pilgrims - and with it he
established a regular newsletter Our Lady's Mirror.
As well as being the means of telling
them what was going on in Walsingham, it enabled him to circulate
homilies and devotions, to acknowledge gifts, to accept
intercessions and thanks to Our Lady, and constantly to appeal for
money for many purposes - towards some new development in his
restoration of the Shrine, or to support his many charitable works
in and around the village, or simply to fund the Shrine's day-to-day
expenses. In 1931 - the year the new Holy
House and Shrine Church was built - a distinct society for priests
was established; currently, the 2,000 Priests Associate of the Holy
House of Walsingham constitute the largest priestly association in
the Anglican Communion. Membership of the Society now stands at
6,500. Prayer was always an important part of "Keeping in Touch" and
still is today; Our Lady's Mirror has become The
Walsingham Review; and The Walsingham Partnership is a
powerhouse of members who support the Shrine financially. Find out
more below.
This section contains information and printable
or on-line application forms (depending on the chosen method of
payment) for all the categories of membership of The Shrine of Our
Lady of Walsingham. These application forms are for new members
only.
EXISTING MEMBERS -
PAY YOUR ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS ON-LINE
If you are already a member of the Society of Our Lady
of Walsingham, a Priest Associate of the Holy House or a member of the Walsingham Partnership, you can pay your annual subscription on-line
with a credit or debit card. Subscriptions may be paid at any time
during the calendar year. Please be aware that we now no longer send
out receipts for amounts less than £50 - owing to the high cost of
postage. Please
click below - and follow the simple step by step instructions.
As from 1st January, 2008 the minimum annual
subscription for members of the Society and for Priests Associate is
now £10. Joint (married couple) membership is £15.
If you wish to pay the subscriptions for a group
of Walsingham Cell members, please make one payment for the total
amount under your name and card and then send an e-mail to:-
The Membership Secretary (membs@olw-shrine.org.uk)
advising that a Cell payment has been made and giving a list of
members names with the individual amounts paid.
To pay your annual membership subscription, click here.
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The current categories of membership are:
 Priests Associate of the Holy House
2,000 Priests Associate who come with, or without, their congregation to
minister at the Shrine.
Priests Associate undertake to say a monthly Mass for the Shrine.
They are remembered each day at Shrine Prayers.
The joining donation is £10 (to cover the first year's membership - badge,
mailings etc.) Thereafter we ask for a minimum annual donation of £10
per year to cover the cost of the Walsingham Review, etc. (See
panel right) Further information and application form.
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All Priests Associate and members of the Society of OLW and The
Walsingham Partnership
On payment of the annual subscription receive mailings three times a year: The Walsingham Review (at the
Assumption and Christmas) and the Easter Review Extra, pilgrimage lists and
details. Regular news and information about courses, retreats and
pilgrimages abroad will also be sent to you.
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 Society of Our Lady of Walsingham
Over 6,500 pilgrims are members of the Society, supporting the
Shrine through their daily prayers. Society members undertake to say the
Angelus everyday as a way of
remembering the Shrine in their prayers. There is also the
opportunity to join The Living Rosary (see below) which offers a
more extensive prayer commitment. Society members are remembered
each day at Shrine Prayers. The joining donation is £10 (single
membership) or £15 (married couple) to cover the
first year's membership - badge, mailings etc. Thereafter we ask for a
minimum annual donation of £10 per year (single membership) or
£15 per year (married couple) to
cover the cost of the Walsingham Review, etc. (See above and
see
also CELLS) For further information and application form click here.
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 The Walsingham Partnership
Building a Shrine for the Future - 2006 is a very special year for
The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. On October 15th, 1931 the
image of Our Lady was removed from Walsingham parish church and
installed in the newly built Holy House. 2006 is therefore be the
75th anniversary of the restoration of the Shrine as we know it.
The Walsingham Partnership was launched in 2004 to facilitate
the growth of the Shrine in the next 75 years by financially
assisting specific development projects. Members of the Partnership
are invited to a Partnership
Pilgrimage weekend and Dinner in February each year and their names
recorded in the Partnership Book. The minimum subscription is £10 per month. The Partnership is remembered each day at Shrine Prayers.
For further information and application form click here.
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 The Living Rosary of Our Lady of Walsingham
Members of the Society and Priests Associate are invited to join THE LIVING ROSARY - a
worldwide pilgrim link which undertakes to participate regularly in
the rosary as recited at Shrine Prayers every day.
Each person who joins the Living Rosary is allocated a mystery and
asked to say that particular decade of the rosary on the same day
that it is prayed in the Shrine, and for the same set of intentions. Information and an application form can be printed off from this
site. (see below.) Alternatively contact the Membership Secretary by
post, telephone or
e-mail to request an application form.
But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray
to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret
will reward you. For further information and application form click here.
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The US Friends of Our Lady of Walsingham
The aim of this organisation is to make it easier for American
Christians to become members of the Society or Priests Associate of
the Holy House. In 1931 Fr Patten restored the Shrine of Our Lady of
Walsingham as the image was translated to the Holy House. In that
very same year, with Fr Patten's support, the National Shrine of
Our Lady of Walsingham was set up in Grace Church, Sheboygan,
Wisconsin. It is remarkable that friendship has existed between the
Shrine and many Episcopal Christians for so many years.
 It was to build on this friendship that the Priest Administrator of
the Shrine visited the United States in October, 2003. As well as
preaching at Regional Walsingham Festivals in four east coast
cities, he announced the launch of a new group, the US Friends of
The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.
The aim of this organisation is to make it easier for American
Christians to become members of the Society or Priests Associate of
the Holy House. The US Friends is recognised in US law and has tax
exemption and a registered office at St Paul's, K Street, Washington
DC. The existence of this group will make it far easier to for us to
stay in touch with our US membership. For more information, please
contact: The Secretary,
US Friends of OLW,
St Paul's Church,
2430 K Street, NW,
Washington DC 20037
or e-mail
usfriendsolw@yahoo.com
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Cells of the Holy House of Our Lady of Walsingham
Priest and
pilgrim groups (members of the Society) who meet regularly in their
local church to celebrate Mass and to offer intercessions on behalf
of the Shrine, arrange fund-raising activities and prepare for their
annual pilgrimage to Walsingham.
 Currently over 160 Cells are active throughout the UK, USA and
Australia. All cells have a Priest Associate as their Local Superior and at
least 7 (from 2002) members of the Society. They are asked to
observe the feasts of the Annunciation of the Lord (March 25th) and
Assumption of Our Lady (August 15th), together with the remembrance
of the translation of the image of Our Lady of Walsingham from the
Parish Church to the present Shrine in 1931 (October 15th.) On these
days in particular, local Cells are asked to pray for the work of
the Shrine and to give thanks for its witness to the mystery of the
incarnation. If possible the Cell may meet more frequently to offer
Mass for the Shrine and for the objects of the Society:
● To honour Mary, the Mother of God and to deepen faith in the incarnation of our Lord.
● To promote devotion to Our Lady and pilgrimage to Walsingham.
● To further, with the aid of Our Lady's prayers, the conversion of the nations and the re-union of Christendom.
● To seek holiness of life through prayer, the scriptures and the sacraments.
For further information and request form click here.
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 Our Lady's Lamps and Candles
Parishes and individual pilgrims have
for many years requested and maintained dedicated lamps and candles
to ask Our Lady of Walsingham to pray for a particular or general
intention. These lamps and candles burn in the Holy House, around
the Shrine Church or in holy places within the Shrine grounds.
For further information on all lamps and candles click here.
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The Chantry Book
S. Edward's Chapel - the pages of the Chantry Book, inscribed
with the name of the dead, are turned every two days. The book is
displayed in S. Edward's Chapel (which is at the west end of the
Shrine Church, close to the well.) Individual names are remembered
and prayed for on the anniversary of their death at the early
morning Mass in the Shrine Church. Since the restoration of the
Shrine the Chantry Book has been the accepted way of remembering the
names of faithful pilgrims, now departed. We ask for a single
donation (currently £30) for each entry. New entries are regularly
added to the book and those who have requested an entry may ask the
duty Sacristan for a special viewing. If you require
further information please contact the Membership Secretary at membs@olw-shrine.org.uk.
For an application form click here.
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For further information and an application forms please contact:
The
Membership Secretary, The Milner Wing,Common Place, Walsingham,
Norfolk, NR22 6BP
Telephone: 01328 820582 Fax: 01328 824206
E-mail: membs@olw-shrine.org.uk |
