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ADMINISTRATOR TAKES THE MESSAGE
‘DOWN UNDER’
The idea of a trip to Australia in the anniversary year
was raised by Fr Martyn Hope, a priest associate from
Brisbane while he was staying at the Shrine in 2010. It is
hoped to start an Australian ‘Friends of OLW’ similar to
that found in the U.S.
A three week programme of preaching and teaching events
has been arranged and Bishop Lindsay will fly off to his
homeland on the 6th October.
Says Bishop Lindsay in a brochure about the visit,
‘I first heard of Our Lady of Walsingham as a
Melbourne teenager, and sang my first ‘Hail Mary’s’ with a
mixture of delight and a vague sense of wickedness, given my
low church background! How wonderful to discover as the
years have gone by that true devotion to Mary always leads a
person to Jesus. The message of Walsingham is Good News. I
look forward to returning to my homeland to share it!’
Beginning in Adelaide at St George’s
Goodwood, the ‘pilgrimage’ itinerary then includes
engagements in the dioceses of the Murray, Ballarat,
Melbourne, Wangaratta, Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle,
Grafton, and Brisbane where the pilgrimage ends on the 31st
October.
The visits will be varied and have been
planned locally, but will include Walsingham services and
Festivals in each locality, and Bishop Lindsay will also be
speaking about Catholic Evangelism at the Institute of
Spiritual Studies in Melbourne, lead a clergy conference on
a similar theme in Wangaratta, visit various schools and
meet with school chaplains in his role as Archbishop’s
President of the Association of School Chaplains.
At the end of the programme, the bishop
will return to Melbourne for ten days holiday with his
family before returning to the English winter!
The following is an outline itinerary.
Details can be had from the local event centres regarding
times and details:
OCTOBER
To Goodwood
Saturday 8th: St George’s, Goodwood,
Adelaide -
Walsingham Festival 10 am – 4 pm
Sunday 9th: St George’s, Goodwood -
9.30 am Parish Mass
To Mount Barker, Diocese of the
Murray
Sunday 9th: Christ the King, Mount
Barker - 5 pm Walsingham Celebration
Monday 10th/12th: Diocese of the
Murray Clergy Retreat
To Ballarat
Wednesday 12th/13th: Visit to Ballarat
Grammar School
Thursday 13th: Evening Celebration at
Ballarat Cathedral
Friday 14th: St Peter, Ballarat - 10
am Mass for Cells of OLW
To Melbourne
Saturday 15th: St Mark’s, Fitzroy -
10.30 am Festival of the Translation of the Image
Sunday 16th: St Mark’s, Fitzroy - 9.30
am Parish Mass
Sunday 16th: St Peter’s, Eastern Hill -
5.00 pm Evensong
Monday 17th: Institute of Spiritual Studies at St Peter’s,
Melbourne -
7.30 pm ‘Fresh Expressions and Catholic Evangelism’
To Wangaratta
Tuesday 18th/21st: Clergy Conference
To Sydney
Saturday 22nd: Christ Church St Laurence - 10.30 am
Festival of OLW
Sunday 23rd: Christ Church St Laurence - 9 am and 10.30 am
Masses
 (View of Christ Church St Laurence,
Sydney)
To Newcastle
Tuesday 25th: Newcastle Cathedral - 11 am–5.30 pm
Walsingham Festival Day
To Grafton
Thursday 27th: Grafton Cathedral - 9.30 am M.U. Mass and
Meeting
Thursday 27th: Visit to Clarence Valley Anglican School
To Brisbane
Saturday 29th: Brisbane Cathedral - 10.30 am–4.30 pm
Festival of OLW
Sunday 30th: St Andrew, Indooroopilly - 9.30 am Parish Mass
Sunday 30th: All Saints, Wickham Terrace - 6.30 pm Evensong
and Benediction
Monday 31st: Churchie Grammar School - 9.00 am Day with
School Chaplains
Our Lady On the Road
Over 2000 pilgrims gathered on
Saturday, 17th September to welcome the
image of Our Lady of Walsingham to York Minster as part of
the 950th anniversary celebrations of the
founding of the Shrine. The previous evening a vigil service
was held at St Wilfrid’s Church in Harrogate.
(2,000
people filled York Minster for the 950 Celebrations)
The great West doors were opened and
after a organ fanfare the Angelus was sung before the
congregation joined in the much loved ‘Joy to thee Queen
within thine ancient dowry’. The hymn expresses the hope
that Mary’s ‘fame’ as the mother of Jesus would again be
spoken of again in this country, and it certainly was so on
this day in the Mother Church of the Northern Province!
The priest Erasmus, a sixteenth century
visitor to Walsingham before the destruction wrote that it
was the hope of every person in England to make a pilgrimage
to Walsingham. In our own day this is certainly not the
case! So, in this anniversary year, we have not limited our
celebrations to this tiny village in Norfolk, but have gone
out with the Message and with the Mother, taking the image
to St Albans, to Exeter, and to York.
On each occasion, as well as a
Celebration Eucharist, the events have had an evangelistic
element, perhaps small, but not insignificant.
 In
March, before a vigil service in Berkamstead School chapel,
the image was carried in an ecumenical procession down the
High Street, stopping the traffic and generally delighting
the crowds. The local parish had leaflets about the visit to
give to passers by. Many who shared in the youth vigil were
folk who had not yet made their way to Walsingham or even
heard of the Shrine!
(The procession at Berkhamstead)
The following afternoon, after the
great Celebration Eucharist in St Albans
 Abbey,
the healing ministries so important to the pilgrim
experience in Walsingham were offered; sprinkling with water
from the Well, the laying on of hands and anointing.
Pilgrims made their way to the various gifts on offer, and
many tourists found themselves gently caught up in the
liturgy and presented themselves for the ministries.
(Healing Ministries
at St Albans)
 At
Exeter in May, after the healing ministries, the pilgrims
processed led by the Blessed Sacrament outside the cathedral
and around the Green, known locally as ‘The Beach’ because
it attracts so many people to sit and talk and relax.
(The Exeter choir
leading the Procession
of the Blessed Sacrament)
And York was no exception. Nigh on
1,000 people gathered in the afternoon for the healing
ministries. Again many tourists who had come to see the
great treasure that Yorkminster most certainly is, found
themselves mingling with the pilgrims and receiving the real
treasures for which the Minster itself was built!
The ‘1061 and All That’ celebrations
now draw to an end with a great sense of thanksgiving, and a
sense of hope that in the midst of an often distracted
Church, and a world that is hopelessly seeking to live life
and find happiness without God, the Shrine of Our Lady of
Walsingham will continue, in the strength of the Lord, to
witness faithfully to his love and mercy.
Click here to visit the Shrine Photo Gallery to see a
full range of photographs from the events at St Albans,
Exeter and York.
FAREWELL AND WELCOMES
The last months have seen the departure of
three of our much loved Sisters to the Ordinariate, and in
March Brothers Paschal and Maximilian left Walsingham and
the Church of England to test their vocations with the Order
of Friars Minor (Conventual). These good-byes have caused
acute sadness at the Shrine for all were an integral part of
our life together here.
Fr Vernon Scott, one of our ‘retireds’, has
moved to the College of St Barnabas for retired clergy in
Surrey to be closer to his family. He has been a lovely gift
to Walsingham over the past fifteen years. He is one in whom
‘there is no guile’ and simply loves God and loves people.
We wish him many happy years in his new home. He left behind
his piano which is now in the Green Room.
It has been good to welcome Bishop John Salt
OGS, recently retired bishop of St Helena to the village. He
is already making his mark, and sharing in the daily
round of prayer and it is good to have
another member of the Oratory of the Good Shepherd in
Walsingham.
Sacristans to retire –
finally!
Philip Smalley and Barry Shipp have served
as senior sacristan and assistant respectively for a number
of years and have both been a tower of strength.
There is nothing more important at
Walsingham than the Shrine Church and the hidden work of
lighting the lamps and preparing the altars. The task of
ensuring that pilgrim groups have all they need with regard
to worship, as well as the usual round of pilgrimage
services is relentless. Their efficiency, lightness of touch
and humour has been a gift to us. Both came to work at the
Shrine after retiring from previous careers, and now feel it
is time to stop getting up for the necessary 6 a.m. start
that the sacristy post requires. Who can blame them!
Philip will retire at the end of July, while
Barry will continue two days per week until the end of
October. Both will continue their relationship with the
Shrine as servers at the altar.
We thank God for their ministry.
1061 and All That! The
Walsingham Children's Pilgrimage - CATCH THE VISION
A report from the
Year4God team
The Yr4God Diaries
Friday 23rd March, 2011 -
12noon
Dear Diary,
Well, here we are awaiting the arrival
of over 100 kiddywinkles coming to participate in the fun
and frolics of what will be the best Walsingham Children’s
Pilgrimage ever! The best one I hear you say? Yes! How
can celebrating the 950th anniversary of Richeldis vision
with a Big Birthday Bash not make it the best ever!
Right: just have to make sure we’ve got
it all ready. Birthday cake? Check. Decorations? Check.
Inflatable’s? Check. Projector? Father Simon’s bringing
that. Music? Rachel’s bringing her guitar. Fancy dress
costumes? Check - Jenny has all hers! (note to oneself-
don’t mix up Richeldis and Mary!)
Scripts? Inflatable ball Check
Inflatable Crocodile – T-shirts sorted
So not long now, until the children
arrive ... and we’re all extremely excited (especially about
the cake - mmmm!)
6.30 pm Supper Time
 They’re
all here, ready to catch the vision.....atmosphere: great
anticipation. Great to meet them all up in the
Refectory, children looking tired after long journeys but
nevertheless excited about what’s to come.
Nerves surrounding First Visit drama!
9 pm
Wow what a First Visit! Dear
Diary you would not believe how responsive all the children
were. Rachel began with some feel good, get in the
mood, warm up songs - the band were fantastic (made of
Rachel, Jenny, Judith and Jonathan). The drama which
we were quite nervous about went down a storm- even though
Father Stephen was rubbish at catching all those
props...never mind the vision! So I think the children
managed catch on to what our theme is this year. All
the joking a palaver surrounding catching balls and picnic
equipment seem to introduce the idea well, especially the
builders who needed a good old telling-off and a thorough
explanation from Richeldis to make sure they had caught the
vision; they had caught the vision of the Holy House.
One of our favourite parts was the
arrival of the Image of Our Lady of Walsingham, carried by
children, into the celebration. Oh and the Holy House
Birthday Cards which the children had brought and made,
looked amazing as they were placed at our Our Lady’s feet.
We finished off with prayers, not forgetting the hot
chocolate afterwards. Good start we say!
Saturday 11:30am
Dearest Diary
A good night’s sleep! I bet the
group leaders weren’t as lucky! Up early, Our Lady packed up
ready to go - costumes and baby bumps (!) at the ready - and
off to the Slipper Chapel. Kids had their
beautiful banners all ready to pile into the Chapel of
Reconciliation, sang songs, had a welcome from Fr Alan
Williams, and shouted out “Catch the Vision!” for all to
hear! And watched the drama of The Visitation of Our Lady to
Elizabeth performed by Sue & Jenny complete with baby bumps
(cushions - not real ones, of course!) then not forgetting
Fr Stephen's inspiring teaching ... and so it began ...
 into
the Holy Mile Walk ... (well some of the kids say they
did a holy 2 mile walk, after walking up to the
Slipper Chapel in the first place! Bless their cotton
socks!) ... children accompanied by lots of music and
blow-ticklers as we processed through the village ... what a
racket! (no one could have a lie-in on that Saturday
morning). But we were all amazed by the sudden
transformation the minute we entered into the Shrine Grounds
through the Brandie Gate, to the quiet reverence as we
processed towards the Shrine Church for a powerful
Benediction service.
Time to go and set up for the
afternoon’s fun and games!!!
My Dearest Diary it’s now
Saturday 12 midnight.
Sorry for the delay but we’ve been
having so much fun, playing on the
bouncy assault course, getting our faces painted by
Judith and going to Sue’s tattoo parlour. Meanwhile,
the three little YR4GOD munchkins were sprucing
up the Refectory ready for the enormous BIG BIRTHDAY
PARTY- with well-known Children’s entertainer, Mr Alan
Scott, and then dancing the night away at the Disco.
Oh and we mustn’t forget Pat the
Clown with her wobbly Jelly, ice cream and...the most
amazing scrumdiddlyumptious Birthday Cake! Fun and
games were had by all.
My dear, dear, dear Diary -
Sunday 3:00pm
Wow wow wow! What an day to end the
weekend on - it was amazing. The mass was just outstanding
with the Christmas story theme.. stories, videos, singing,
birthday cake, prayers…worshiping Our Lord has never been as
much fun. Everyone loved it and so did we. Then we had our
Sprinkling where everyone got so wet from some watering
cans, garden sprinklers & Adam the Diver with his big bucket
of water!! So after dying-off from that we said
our last visit to the Holy House and had a sad goodbye. But
we had the best weekend ever and we know that everyone else
did too !!! Right time to tidy up…
So tell next year… keep it cool !!!
Year4God Team
THE PARTNERSHIP WEEKEND 2011
This year's Partnership Weekend (11th - 13th February) was,
fortunately unaffected by cancellations caused by nationwide
snow falls -as has happened in the previous two years.
 On
the Friday evening after supper, the Shrine's Director of
Music, Peter Macken, gave a 'sound and vision' talk on
The Church and Stage. Presenting examples of both
magnificent and misguided operatic productions, the speaker
highlighted stage directors' deliberate and accidental
misinterpretations of seminal religious moments contained in
popular operatic works. The video clips included Puccini's
Tosca and Suor Angelica, Verdi's Don Carlos
and La Forza del Destino and culminated
with the closing scene of Poulenc's Dialogues des
Carmelites.
On the Saturday morning the Administrator, Bishop Lindsay
Urwin on the way forward for the Shrine during the difficult
times ahead - the creation of the Ordinariate and the
proposed ordination of women bishops. Members of the
Partnership were grateful for the opportunity both to hear
Bishop Lindsay's views and to have a chance to ask
questions.
Saturday afternoon was free-time - this year, a chance for a
guided walk around the park at Holkham Hall (near
Wells-next-the-Sea) followed by tea at the nearby Victoria
Arms Hotel.
After Mass and a drinks reception in the Pilgrim Hall, the
Partners sat down to a wonderful dinner followed by a highly
informative after-dinner speech from the Mrs Barbara Marlow,
the senior Lady Guardian.
 Mrs
Marlow spoke of the small, but important differences that
having a female Guardian had made to the Shrine; for one
thing, she supervised the cleaning of the Guardians'
mantles, which didn't seem to have been touched since 1931!
Sunday followed the usual Pilgrimage worship pattern and all
too soon it was time to bid farewell to the Walsingham
Partners - pilgrims who commit themselves to support
financially the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.
A comprehensive set of photographs of the weekend can be
found in the Shrine's Photo Gallery.
Canon Martin Warner, Master of
the Guardians, to be Suffragan Bishop of Whitby
Canon Martin Warner, Master of the
College of Guardians at the Shrine (and currently Canon
Treasurer of St Paul's Cathedral, London) has been
appointed by the Queen as the Suffragan Bishop of Whitby, in
succession to Bishop Robert Ladds.
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu,
in whose diocese Fr Warner will be working, described him as
"a man of great faith and integrity who has a real heart for
serving the community. I am sure that his passion for
helping others will shine through during his time on
Teesside. He will be joining a team committed to making
Christ visible."
Fr Warner began his ministry in the
Church as Assistant Curate at St Peter's, Plymouth (1984 -
1988). He was Team Vicar of the Parish of the Resurrection,
Leicester (1988 - 1993) and then was appointed Administrator
of the Shrine (1993 - 2002). Since 2003, Fr Warner has been
a Canon at St Paul's Cathedral.
HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of
Edinburgh KG KT, opens the Milner Wing
At precisely 10.30 am on Thursday, 8th
October, the royal car drew up
 outside
the Brandie Gate and His Royal Highness, The Duke of
Edinburgh walked into the courtyard to be greeted by the
Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk, Mr Richard Jewson JP. The Lord
Lieutenant presented the High Sheriff of Norfolk (Mr Robert
Carter), the chairman of the North Norfolk District Council
(Councillor Simon Partridge), the Bishop of Norwich (The Rt
Revd Graham James), the Assistant Chief Constable of Norfolk
(Mr Kevin Wilkins) and the Administrator of the Shrine (The
Rt Revd Lindsay Urwin OGS). Bishop Lindsay then invited the
Duke to meet the group of children from
 Walsingham
Community Primary School who were waiting in the courtyard.
The Bishop and His Royal Highness then
proceeded through the Shrine grounds to the Norton Cafe Bar.
En route, Prince Philip stopped to speak to the Sisters of
the Society of St Margaret whose convent is in the Shrine
grounds. At the Norton Cafe Bar, Canon Martin Warner, Master
of the College of Guardians was presented. He in turn
introduced Prince Philip to members of the Walsingham Appeal
Board, to the Guardians and the Shrine Heads of Departments.
Leaving the Refectory area Prince
Philip walked through the gardens towards the Shrine Church
- meeting the gardener, Steve Eley and the garden
landscaper, Tessa Hobbs. At the Shrine Church, Mr Barry
Shipp and the Franciscans, Brother Pascal and Brother
Maximilian were presented along with Rachel Frary, the
longest serving member of the Shrine staff - 55 years as a
member of the Housekeeping department.
Bishop Lindsay and Canon Warner gave
His Royal Highness a guided tour of the Shrine Church
including a visit to the Holy House. His Eminence the
Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira
 and
Great Britain was presented at the Orthodox Chapel within
the Shrine Church. Prince Philip then walked past Stella
Maris House and visited the Milner Wing Welcome Centre,
meeting The Revd Philip North (former Administrator of the
Shrine) who in turn presented the creators of the centre
(Claire Rheinhold and Gill Austen - with Matthew Jones of
Imagemakers), the funders (Sylvia Collier and Roy Swanston
of the Heritage Lottery Fund) and representatives of the
Shrine's volunteer stewards.
Leaving the Welcome Centre, Fr
North escorted Prince Philip into the Reception area where
Hospitality and Membership staff were gathered. The royal
party then visited one of the Milner Wing bedrooms
especially designed for the disabled. Members of the
Housekeeping staff had the opportunity to briefly meet with
the Duke as he left the first floor of the Milner Wing and
walked down to the Brandie Gate courtyard.
 Bishop
Lindsay welcomed both our royal guest and all those who had
come to support the opening of this important building in
the development of the Shrine. Paying tribute to the
generosity of both Sir William Milner and 5,000+ donors to
the Walsingham Appeal, the Bishop began the brief Service of
Blessing which began with the hymn "He Who would Valiant
Be." His Royal Highness was then invited to open officially
the building by unveiling a stone plaque which records -
THE MILNER WING
Named in honour of Sir William Milner Bt.
Benefactor and Guardian of this Shrine
1931 - 1960
was opened by
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT
on 8 October 2009
AMDG
The National Anthem was sung and at
11.45 am, His Royal Highness departed through the Brandie
Gate.
Visit the on-line
Shrine Photo Gallery for more photographs.
New Guardian of the Shrine
Fr. Graeme Rowlands, parish priest of St
Silas, Kentish Town and Chaplain General of the Society of
Mary, has been elected as a Guardian of the Shrine of Our
Lady of Walsingham. He succeeds Canon Peter Cobb, former
Master of Guardians, who is standing down on health grounds.
Fr Rowlands will be installed at the next Guardians' Chapter
Meeting on Monday 12th
October.
 Fr
Rowlands played a huge part in last year’s successful
ecumenical pilgrimage to Lourdes organized jointly by the
Society of Mary and the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.
The pilgrimage was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr
Rowan Williams and greatly supported by Cardinal Kasper, who
has responsibility within the Roman Catholic Church for
ecumenical dialogue between the churches.
Fr Rowlands, who was born in 1953, has been a
regular pilgrim to Walsingham for many years. He was
ordained priest in 1977 and served as Curate of Holy Trinity
Reading from 1981-1989 before beginning his significant
ministry in the Diocese of London.
NEW SHRINE PRIEST & YOUTH
MISSIONER
Father Stephen
Gallagher, currently parish priest of Lower Beeding in the
Diocese of Chichester and Youth Chaplain for West Sussex, is
to join the Shrine's Ministry Team as Shrine Priest and
Youth Missioner on October 1st 2009.
 Originally
from County Durham, Father Stephen trained for the ministry
at Chichester Theological College and was ordained in 1989
serving his title in South Shields. After a further curacy
in Hartlepool combined with a hospital chaplaincy, his first
incumbency was in the diocese of York. He moved to Sussex in
1997 where he has juggled the life of a parish priest with a
wider ministry among young people. The annual youth camps in
the diocese of Chichester are among the largest in the
Church of England.
Stephen and his wife
Judith, with their two children, Elise and Gregory have been
making pilgrimages to Walsingham for many years and he leads
a large group from the diocese to the youth pilgrimage every
year. It will be very good to welcome a priest of such wide
and varied pastoral experience to the Shrine. Stephen will
combine some of the duties formerly undertaken by the Shrine
priest with an enhanced leadership role and a particular
responsibility for further developing our pilgrimage
ministry and mission among young people.
NINTH SHRINE
ADMINISTRATOR INSTALLED
 During
the course of a Solemn Mass for St Joseph on Monday, 19th
March, 2009 at 12 noon the Rt Revd Lindsay Urwin OGS was
installed and licensed as the ninth Administrator of the
Shrine by the Rt Revd Graham James, Bishop of Norwich. Also
present at the service were the Bishops of Chichester,
Pontefract, Richborough, Lynn and the Rt Rev Robert Ladds.
A packed Shrine Church listened to the Bishop of Norwich's
welcoming sermon and then witnessed the legal formalities of
installation and licensing. (Bishop Lindsay was also
licensed as an assistant bishop within the Norwich diocese.)
After the signing of various documents, the Master of the
College of Guardians, Canon Martin Warner, welcomed Bishop
Lindsay as the new
Administrator and installed him in his stall in the choir of
the Shrine Church accompanied by loud applause from the
congregation.
Guests from all over the country - in addition to many local
friends of the shrine - converged on Walsingham for the
service. In particular, Bishop Lindsay was pleased to
welcome fellow members of the Oratory of the Good Shepherd
who attended in support of one of their fellow Orators.
After the service, lunch was served in the Pilgrim Refectory
and the Norton Cafe Bar for the congregation of over
250. Bishop Lindsay obviously enjoyed greeting everyone as
he moved about the refectory at lunch.
For more photographs visit the Shrine's Photo Gallery.
Click here
|
The
Shrine's Honorary Photographer, Graham Howard, has come up
with a splendid idea. From the vast number of photographs he
has taken during this year, he has selected his favourite
images and made them available to everyone on a special
Photo Gallery website. This gallery will be updated
regularly - i.e. the National Pilgrimage 2009 photos
will replace those of 2008 - providing a complete view of a
pilgrimage year.
This
contains the six Shrine Masses, plus The Solemnity of OLW and the
Feast of the Trans-
In
his native Argyll he did much to support the priests
and churches in the Diocese of Argyll & The Isles.
Many of them still today use vestments given by him.
However, it was All Saints, Inveraray - close by the
ducal residence of Inveraray Castle - which
benefitted most from his
generosity.
He built the magnificent bell-tower - with a peal of
ten bells - as a memorial to his clansmen and
countrymen who died in the First World War. He also
furnished the church as a place suitable for
catholic worship.
Pilgrim
Manual - suggested hymn tunes