I have recently had the privilege of making a pilgrimage to Walsingham. This is nothing remarkable as I have made at least an annual pilgrimage for the last twenty years and the place has become very much an anchorhold in my life. I went to Walsingham for the first time in the mid-1990s as a member of the Church of England and I was captivated by devotion to Our Lady under this title.
In those days the Catholic parish church was a little dull temporary building, with a frontage designed by Enid Chadwick, which had remained in use beyond its intended lifespan days. The Catholic National Shrine at Houghton St Giles was a place that seemed set in the middle of nowhere. However in the years since I became a Catholic I have grown to appreciate the still beauty of the Slipper Chapel and its surroundings as well as the new Church of the Annunciation in Friday Market. If I was being mischievous I would also say that the Catholic image of Our Lady of Walsingham looks far less miserable than the Anglican one.
