St Joan of Arc Day on Saturday 30 May brings to mind Cardinal Henry Beaufort. The Cardinal presided at the trial of Joan who afterwards entrusted her ring to him on the eve of her death by burning in Rouen’s market square in 1431. We meet Cardinal Beaufort as we start out on the Pilgrims’ […]
Written by
Today 21 May is the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII setting out for Canterbury. Early on the morning of 21 May 1520, after the Ascension, the King and Queen Katharine (of Aragon), accompanied by Cardinal Wolsey and a huge entourage, left Greenwich Palace. A very long procession went uphill towards Blackheath. The final destination was […]
Written by
A recent addition to information relating to the Pilgrims’ Way is an online guide to Lesnes Abbey. But for the Coronavirus lockdown this is a site which would have been having much traffic in this Becket 2020 year. Lesnes Abbey, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St Thomas of Canterbury, lies on the north side […]
Written by
It is reported by the Confraternity of St James that Santiago Cathedral is asking Pope Francis to extend next year’s St James Holy Year into 2022. This is prompted by a growing realisation in Galicia that a return to normal will be gradual with travel restricted for sometime after a phased return to work. The […]
Written by
Tim Gee, who lives near the Old Kent Road, was planning to walk to Canterbury during Holy Week arriving this Easter weekend. Aware that St Thomas’ Hospital is named after St Thomas Becket whose shrine was at Canterbury, Tim is fundraising for Latin American Women’s Aid refuge. Not to be stopped by the virus crisis […]
Written by
A cave has been discovered under the grounds of St Catherine’s Chapel in Surrey. The chapel is on the Pilgrims’ Way from Winchester and just south of Guildford, between Compton and St Martha’s Hill. St Catherine’s Chapel was built in 1317 as a chapel of ease for St Nicholas Church in Guildford but is known […]
Written by
Due to the extreme restrictions on movement of people due to the virus there has been an immediate termination of live broadcasts from Southwark, Canterbury and Winchester Cathedrals. At present only Southwark has announced alternative arrangements: Morning Prayer 9am and Compline 9pm are being streamed live on Facebook from The Deanery on Bankside. On Sunday […]
Written by
Today is the 40th anniversary of Oscar Romero’s assassination. Archbishop of San Salvador Oscar Romero was shot dead at the altar of a hospital chapel on orders of the state having spoken for the poor and appealed to the army not to kill innocent fellow-citizens. News of his death was a sensation when reported in […]
Written by
Services are being streamed live from Southwark Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral and Canterbury Cathedral, the start and climax of the two pilgrim roads. At Southwark daily services are 9.15 Eucharist and 4pm Evensong. Sunday services are 11am and 3pm. The backdrop at Southwark Cathedral is the huge Lent artwork called Pilgrimage by Michelle Rumney featuring hanging […]
Written by
It is extraordinary that whilst many of us are disappointed that we shall not be arriving on foot in Canterbury during this Becket2020 year we are suddenly able to be there daily. Services are being broadcast live from the cathedral. The congregation is us watching online. The reader at today’s noon Mass was canon missioner […]
Written by