Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham

History
Walsingham is a small village in North Norfolk, in England, near the North Sea.  In the year 1061 the local Lady of the manor, the Lady Richeldis, received a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary in which she was asked to build a replica of the holy house in Nazareth where the holy family lived.  The holy house was built and a well marked the spot for its location.  It quickly became a place of devotion and pilgrimage, and the waters of the well were believed to hold miraculous qualities.  Thus from the beginning of the story, the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham has been a place to experience and celebrate the reality of the Incarnation- the “Word made flesh” -- and a place of healing.  Until the martyrdom of St. Thomas a Becket at Canterbury in 1170, Walsingham was England’s most celebrated and visited shrine.

King Henry VIII was a pilgrim and benefactor at Walsingham, but, as the Walsingham hymn said, “with greed in his eyes,” he had the monastery at Walsingham dissolved in the 16th century and the image of Our Lady which was at the heart of the Holy House, was burned in London.  So the shrine met its ignoble end.

It lay dormant for nearly 400 years, just the monastic ruins remaining as a witness to its former life.  In 1922, the parish priest at the church of St. Mary the Virgin in Walsingham, Fr. Hope Patten, caused to have made a statue of Our lady of Walsingham.  He had discovered in the British Museum a medieval seal of the old monastery, and at its center was an image of our Lady -- presumably a representation of the image that had been destroyed at the Reformation.  This statue was placed in the parish church, and at once pilgrims returned once more seeking the blessings of pre-Reformation Walsingham.  By 1931 the numbers had become too many for the parish church to cope with and a new shrine church was built, with the Holy House at its center and the image above its altar.  So the Shrine of our Lady of Walsingham was reborn, and in our own time it continues to draw thousands each year who, like the medieval predecessors come to discover the reality of “god with us,” and the effects of God’s loving and healing Grace and Love.

Why Shrines?
Walsingham holds a special place in the affections of Anglicans, being the only English shrine to Our Lady and being very much the focus of Anglican Marian devotion.

The “scandal of particularity” is something theologians speak of when talking about the Christian God.  Jesus lived in a particular time and place, and he shows who God is because he is God.  That particular revelation continues in the Body of Christ, the Church -- particular groups of Christians in particular places celebrating particular sacraments -- outward and visible signs of God’s inner and spiritual Grace.  In the same way, some places seem to be particularly numinous -- the veil is very thin between this world and the next.  These places are gifts from God to assist us on our pilgrimage.

Pilgrimage
Pilgrims go to shrines. Shrines attract pilgrims for the reasons above.  Pilgrimage has been a part of the Christian experience, for pilgrimage to particular places mirrors the Christian journey itself as we, our souls and bodies, seek to move towards closer to our destiny which is the Glory of God.  Pilgrimages can be times of renewal, reflection, new perspectives, spiritual growth and in the company of the wider church, they can be encounters with the Incarnate Word in word, sacrament, fellowship and ministry.  Nowhere is this more true than at Walsingham. Our parish conducts a biennial pilgrimage. Click here for details.

The Shrine at St. Paul's
Not everyone has the opportunity to travel to North Norfolk in England!  You will find Shrines of Our Lady of Walsingham, with different representations of the Image in the Holy House at Walsingham, all over the world, most especially in Anglican churches.

Through the generosity of a bequest and other gifts, St. Paul’s was able to commission the painting of a triptych by the Philadelphia artist David d’Ambly in 2000.  The triptych shown here was dedicated by the Right Reverend James Winchester Montgomery on All Saints Day; the preacher on that occasion was the Rev. Fr. Martin Warner, Administrator of the Shrine at Walsingham, and two of the Lay Guardians of the Shrine at Walsingham were present and in the procession.  Since that time. the shrine at St. Paul’s has, by God’s Grace, sought to mirror the work and witness of the English shrine.  Each evening (Monday-Saturday) at 5:30 p.m.,  the final antiphons to Blessed Virgin are prayed, along with many intercessions that have been requested from far and near.  Many of these requests, like the daily intercessions at the shrine in Walsingham, are for healing of mind, body and spirit; also included are thanksgivings for prayers answered.

The shrine at St. Paul’s, rooted in the work and witness of the shrine at Walsingham itself, seeks to point to the living reality of the Incarnation and the free availability of God’s healing Grace and Love.  In the end, it is to that Incarnation, “Immanuel,” “God with us” that all Marian devotion points.  It is no accident that the image itself has our Lady presenting the Lord to the world, not holding him in towards herself -- an image of the mission of the Church -- and her hand clearly pointing away from herself to the Incarnate Lord -- the mission and ministry of all Christians.

>> Click here to go to the official Walsingham Shrine Web site