THE P
RTAL
Extraordinary Day at Westminster
by Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane
April 2011 Page 11
With Parliament Square full of people protesting about Government cuts , and rioters in Fortnum and Mason ’ s , one could have been forgiven for not venturing into central London on Saturday 26th March this year . Such reticence , whilst understandable , would have been a mistake . Oh , not to join the protesters , or the rioters , rather to go to Westminster Cathedral for the 950th anniversary celebrations of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham .
Cathedral packed
The Cathedral was packed with worshippers , many having to stand . The image from the Slipper Chapel was carried in procession escorted by the Guardians of the Anglican Shrine . It was a truly ecumenical moment .
The Mass , if rather long , was nevertheless inspirational . Wonderful music , bishops and Archbishops everywhere , together with hundreds of pilgrims , all joined together in one glorious Mass .
Element of protest
Archbishop Vincent Nichols made the valid point in his homily that pilgrimage has always had an element of protest about it . In medieval times life could be harsh indeed . Going on Pilgrimage freed one from the harshness of life , if only for the brief period of the Pilgrimage season . Kings , Lords and commoners , not to mention peasants ; all made pilgrimage . Of course Richeldis was herself a woman of protest . A Norman Lady who , in 1061 would have not have been the most welcome of people in a largely Saxon country . All this changed with the coming of William the Conqueror , but in 1061 that was still in the future .
One Holy House
At Walsingham there was just one Holy House , and it was for all . Walsingham was the great leveller , for all prayed in the same Holy Place . This element of protest is important for pilgrimage , for today Christians are counter-cultural in a very real sense . The morals and values of Catholic Christians are not those of the age . At Walsingham today there may be two Shrines , but working together they share an ecumenical heart . The presence of both Bishop Lindsay Urwin OGS Administrator of the Anglican Shrine and Fr Alan
Williams Director of the Roman Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady was a powerful sign of this to all .
Monsignor Keith Newton
In the midst of all this , and so much more , was the Ordinary , Monsignor Keith Newton . He took his place with all the other pilgrims , paying honour to Our Lady of Walsingham .
Ave Maria
That the Ordinariate is the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham is a delight to us all , for how many of us have had our Catholic Faith forged in that humble Norfolk village ?
Ave Maria ! Our Lady of Walsingham : Pray for us .