Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham

Coordinates: 52°52′52″N 0°51′12″E / 52.88112°N 0.85331°E / 52.88112; 0.85331
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham
Diocese of East Anglia
Clergy
Bishop(s)Peter Collins
RectorPhilip Moger
The Slipper Chapel and Presbytery

The Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham,[3] informally known as the Slipper Chapel or the Chapel of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, is a Catholic basilica in Houghton Saint Giles, Norfolk, England. Built in 1340, it was the last chapel on the pilgrim route to Walsingham.

Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Walsingham
presently enshrined within the chapel on 15 August 1954.

minor basilica
via an apostolic decree on 27 December 2015.

Early history

When the Slipper Chapel was built, Walsingham was second only to Canterbury in the ranks of importance in English pilgrimage.

In 1538, after

papal rescript from Pope Leo XIII. It was restored in 1904 by Thomas Garner
.

On the Feast of the Assumption, 15 August 1934, the

National Shrine of Our Lady.[8]

Canonical coronation of the image

Twenty years later on 15 August 1954,

Papal nuncio, Monsignor Gerald O'Hara to crown the venerated image of the Virgin Mary under the same title in his apostolic name, funded by gold donated by female devotees and accompanied by his papal bull from the Sacred Congregation of Rites
.

Moments after the coronation ceremony, two white doves descended on the lap of the image, which was considered miraculous by devotees.[9][10] The ceremony was accompanied by both British and American pilots who sponsored the security for the event, and devotees who processed barefoot in the "Holy Mile" leading into the shrine.

Holy Mile

Many modern pilgrims remove their shoes at the Slipper Chapel and walk the last mile, called the "Holy Mile", into Walsingham barefoot. The Slipper Chapel contains a stone statue of the

Virgin Mary carved by Marcel Barbeau. The statue was taken to Wembley to be blessed by Pope John Paul II
when he visited England on 29 May 1982.

Each year on 8 September, on the Feast of the Birth of Our Lady, the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham is carried for several miles in a procession which begins at the Slipper Chapel.[4]

The

Grade II listed presbytery was built in 1904, probably by Garner.[11]
Today, the complex surrounding the Slipper Chapel includes a Chapel of Reconciliation, built in 1982, which can seat up to 350 people for services and can be opened towards the pilgrimage area in occasion of bigger ceremonies; a bookshop; and a tearoom.

In 2007 the Slipper Chapel featured in the BBC documentary series How We Built Britain, presented by David Dimbleby.[12][13]

Status as a minor basilica

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.[14][15][16]

Rector

  1. 1964–1968: Peter Harris (Westminster)
  2. 1968–1978: Roland Connelly
  3. 1979–1984: Clive Birch
  4. 1984–1992: Peter Allen
  5. 1992–2000: Alan Williams
  6. 2000–2008: Noel Wynn
  7. 2008–2015: Alan Williams
  8. 2015–2020: John Armitage (Brentwood)
  9. 2020–2023: Philip Moger.[17]
  10. 2023-present: Robert Billings[18]

Interior

References

  1. ^ "Walsingham | National Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham". Archived from the original on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  2. ^ Historic England. "The Slipper Chapel (1170439)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  3. ^ "Home". walsingham.org.uk.
  4. ^ a b Catholic Tradition website
  5. ^ Information from Catholicism.org
  6. ^ Norfolk Churches website
  7. ^ Intersecting Journeys: The Anthropology of Pilgrimage and Tourism by Ellen Badone, Sharon R. Roseman Published by University of Illinois Press (2004) pg 55
    ISBN 0-252-02940-2
  8. ^ The Catholic Walsingham website[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "The Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma: England's Nazareth: Our Lady of Walsingham's solemn crowning in 1954 is often referred to as the "miracle of the doves"". 24 September 2011.
  10. ^ Walsingham - National Pilgrimage (1954). YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
  11. ^ Historic England. "The Presbytery to Slipper Chapel (1049416)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  12. ^ Enjoy England website Archived November 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ How We Built Britain - BBC website
  14. ^ "Walsingham given Minor Basilica status by Pope Francis - Lynn News". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  15. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3hfxbJDBbs - Walsingham Shrine becomes a Minor Basilica - Declaration in Latin language
  16. ^ "Pope designates Walsingham shrine as a minor basilica". Catholic Herald. 31 December 2015. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  17. ^ "New Rector of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham". 25 January 2020.
  18. ^ "New Rector for the Shrine of our Lady at Walsingham". 24 September 2023.

External links

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