Our 2024 Pilgrimage, from Worcester via Coventry to Peterborough, will very soon be underway. Pilgrims across the world have started their journeys to Worcester ready for our start on Saturday afternoon.
If you are one of those pilgrims, welcome aboard. You may like to pass on the details below to family or friends.
If not, and you’re close to our route, you’re welcome to join us as a “day pilgrim”, walking a full day or a few yards with us, or maybe just meeting us for prayer at one of our church stops.
If you’re not able to join us this year, you can join as an “e-pilgrim”, following our progress on our web diary. Please pray for us as we will for you as we journey along.
The web diary is now live at www.thepilgrims.org.uk/2024 – for now it has our plans, to be updated with words and picture as we go along.
Good luck & God’s blessings to you all.Will be thinking of you all & all the great memories you will make..
With heavy heart I’ll be following your journey. God speed mi pilgrim amigos.
Very sadly I shall not be participating this year as I am mourning the recent death of my dearly beloved friend and partner, Sue Way, who died on 18th July and whose funeral will be taking place on 15th August.
As I lived in Coventry for about 30 years of my life I had intended to walk from Worcester as far as my previous home city but instead I have to prepare for Sue’s funeral which will be a very traumatic occasion.
She never came on the pilgrimage but was a very keen and energetic walker who prior to her death was the Leisure Walks secretary of Eastbourne Rambling club.
I shall remember to pray for the success of the pilgrimage and should be grateful if some prayers could be said during the course of the pilgrimage for the repose of the soul of my beloved friend. May she now test in peace,
Greetings to all,
John Carmody.
Dear John, I’m so sorry to hear the sad news about Sue. We shall pray for you both on the pilgrimage, which is now on a rest day in Warwick. May Sue Rest In Peace and rise in glory!
Thank you for your kind words, Michael. Sue’s funeral is tomorrow which is the day that you arrive in Coventry, as i am reliably informed.
I should be interested to hear which venue has been chosen for your overnight stop in Coventry.I lived in Coventry for 30 years of my life and had hoped to walk from Worcester as far as Coventry but as events turned out this became impossible.
Sue was over 5 years younger than me and much fitter than I am before her cruel illness struck earlier this year.She died on 18th July just over two weeks short of her 75th birthday.
I was extremely sorry to hear that your Susan has now had to go into care and I shall remember to pray for you both at what must be an extremely difficult time. May God bless you and the other pilgrims.I shall look forward to hearing about the pilgrimage in due course and might manage to come to the reunion if one is arranged for this year.
Best wishes to all,
John
Hope you all have a great first week. I am looking forward to joining you next week
We’ll prepare the red carpet, Simon, though sadly this is my first pilgrimage without Susan, who is now in care.
Really looking forward to seeing Simon at the pub with the empty glasses around him!!!! Look back at 2011 if you don’t understand
Michael and Susan’s Ruby Anniversary Mass
6PM Sunday 1/9/24
St Anne’s Catholic Church, Brockenhurst
Pilgrims most welcome, since Susan went on the first pilgrimage in 1975 and we met on the Papal Pilgrimage in 1982.
ChatGPT generated … I didn’t tell it about the sea monsters!
From Worcester’s ancient, hallowed ground,
Where faith in every stone is found,
We set our feet on paths unknown,
A pilgrimage where seeds are sown.
Through Heart of England’s verdant ways,
We walked with prayer, our hearts ablaze,
First to Coventry’s shining grace,
Where peace and hope found sacred space.
The ruins spoke of battles past,
Yet in those walls, a love steadfast,
That healed the wounds of war’s cruel hand,
And brought new light to this blessed land.
With every step, through field and town,
Our spirits rose, we cast off frowns,
For in each stride, we felt the call,
To walk as one, to give our all.
From Coventry’s peace, we journeyed still,
Through valleys low and rolling hill,
To Peterborough’s towering might,
A beacon shining through the night.
At last, our feet on sacred stone,
We knelt before the great unknown,
And in that space, both vast and wide,
We found our peace, we found our guide.
A pilgrimage, not just of ground,
But of the soul, where truth is found,
In every prayer, in every song,
In every moment we belong.
So let us raise our voices high,
In joyful praise beneath the sky,
For Worcester’s start, for Coventry’s peace,
For Peterborough’s final release.
In unity, we’ve walked this way,
With Christ our light, our hope, our stay,
And as we part, our journey done,
We know in Him, we’re ever one.
Enjoyed reading the poem. I hope that everyone enjoyed the pilgrimage.
Thank you all for the prayers for my dear friend and partner Sue Way.
Try as I did I never managed to persuade her to come on the pilgrimage, not even the reunion in Eastbourne last October.
May she and all deceased pilgrims and their husbands, wives,
friends and partners rest in peace in God’s Eternal Kingdom..