Brian Mooney
Early spring, as Chaucer tells us, is the start of the pilgrimage season. Thanks to an account left by Archbishop of Canterbury Sigeric the Serious of his journey back from Rome in 990 after collecting his pallium from Pope John XV, the revived modern pilgrim route to Rome today officially starts in Canterbury.
Hundreds of pilgrims from across the world descend on Canterbury Cathedral each year to set out by foot or bicycle on the 2,000 km journey to re-connect with the 79 stages of Sigeric’s journey recorded in De Roma ad Usque Mare. Many of them will have arrived in London by air or train from overseas, and many others from the British Isles will have set out from their homes and made their way to Canterbury through the capital.
