Co ntents
.......................................................
Letter from the Rector
02
New Shrine Administrator
03
Pilgrimage News
05
Walsingham Association
09
The story of “Walsingham
Support”
11
Sister Wendy Renate RIP
14
Pilgrim’s poem
15
National Draw Winners
16
Support the Basilica
17
Prayers
18
Watch live broadcasts from the
Basilica of Our Lady at Walsingham
For more information,
visit www.walsingham.org.uk
Dear Friends,
When is the building work going to start Father? I have been asked this
question many times since I arrived at Walsingham but I still don’t
know the answer. So I thought I would give you a broad idea of how
the developments are progressing. The aim of the Walsingham Trust is
to ensure that the facilities at the Shrine for day pilgrims and in the
village at Elmham House for residential pilgrims are up to date with
present day requirements, and expectations.
Mgr John Armitage
Rector
The proposals for the Shrine are to provide adequate shelter in the case
of rain, larger facilities for catering, a pilgrim hall where groups can
meet, a new shop and toilets. In addition we are looking to make
alterations to the Chapel of Our Lady of Reconciliation, to create more
seating, and to build a new sacristy. As you know we have been blessed with a wonderful donation
of £4 million to help with the building works; in addition the same Trust fund will be paying for a
major new work of mosaic art in the Chapel and around the Shrine.
02
.........
Welcome
At Elmham House, we now have plans drawn up for the rebuilding of the 1980’s block
behind Friday Market. We did look to see if we could refurbish this block but our architects
advised us that it would be more cost effective to rebuild. Once we have the final plans we
will be able to get an accurate idea of the cost of the rebuild. The plans will be presented to
North Norfolk Council for approval in due course. The building work will of course depend
on us raising further money. During the period of re-building we will still be open to welcome
parish pilgrimages as we have identified additional accommodation that can be used during
the re-build.
One piece of building news I can give you is that our new Retreat Centre in the High Street
which will be known as Dowry House will be completed in autumn, and be open by the end
of the year. I am delighted to inform you that the Community of Our Lady of Walsingham will be
living in the house and will be running the Dowry Retreat on behalf of the Shrine. The retreat house
is open for individuals and small groups to come for a time of prayer and peace. There will also be
organised retreats which will be publicised in the Newsletter and the Catholic press.
So this year we started our Major Fundraising for Walsingham. The Bishops have agreed to a “one
off” collection in all parishes in September of this year, so please encourage your parish priests when
this comes up to promote the collection and please also encourage your fellow parishioners to support
the collection, tell them of your experiences of Walsingham and invite them to come on pilgrimage.
We are applying to various Trust Funds to support us, and have produced a fundraising leaflet
which you will find in this mailing to encourage people to support the Shrine by regular giving.
So as you can see there is much happening in the background and in the not too distant future we
pray that work may begin. So please pray that as Our Lady once asked Richeldis to build a replica
of her Holy House, we may continue to build a shrine where all who wish to come to Walsingham
in remembrance of Our Lady’s Annunciation may be welcomed today and in the years to come.
With my blessing and prayers for you and your families.
Our new
Shrine Administrator
Dear Friends,
As some of you
may
already
Nick Clovis
know,
Nick
Shrine Administrator
Clovis has been
appointed as our new Shrine
Administrator.
Our new Shrine Administrator
Nick, who studied Artificial Intelligence
and has over 10 years’ experience in
transforming businesses, moved
from London to Walsingham in
03
early 2015, looking for a quiet life.
.........
He and his wife Annelies followed a
call from Our Lady, a request they
couldn’t refuse.
At that time, they had no idea
about the development plans and
the future of the Shrine. It later
transpired that they had come up
only two days after Mgr John
Armitage had moved into the
village for the start of his role as the
new Rector at the Shrine. Although
Nick and Mgr John had never met
before, they got on immediately,
and there went the plans for a quiet
life.
Nick spent the first year
enthusiastically assisting the work of
the Shrine and was eventually
appointed administrator in order to
assist in the transformation. Nick shares
the vision for the Shrine and the plans
to develop the pilgrim experience, to
upgrade the current service and facilities
and to become a centre for the New
Evangelisation.
His focus this year is on a new booking
system for the Shrine’s own
accommodation, Elmham House, as well
as assisting with various accounting
processes, upgrading the current
communication system and IT
infrastructure, facilitating the Shrine’s
web presence and assisting Mgr John in
devising fundraising strategies.
On a personal level, Nick and his family
have a great devotion to Our Lady, and
they feel very blessed that they are given
the opportunity to serve Our Lord and
His Mother here in Walsingham. He is
one of ten children, two of whom are
currently studying for the priesthood in
Italy.
Nick and Annelies have 6 children, of
which the youngest, Maximilian, was
born at the end of May, and was recently
baptised at the Basilica. Their eldest son
Joshua serves daily at the Shrine’s
Pilgrim Mass, and their three daughters
help regularly with collections on
Sundays and during pilgrimages.
Nick’s new role as
administrator
carries
various
responsibilities, but
he knows that with
the help of Our Lord
and the intercession
of His mother, the
Shrine’s work will be
successful.
Pilgrimage News
Dear Friend,
Pilgrimage News
The pilgrimage season at the National Shrine
this year has already seen many truly
remarkable days, with ever increasing numbers
of pilgrims and some “firsts” at the Basilica of
Our Lady of Walsingham. There is no doubt
that the granting of Basilica status to the
Shrine by Pope Francis on the Feast of the
Holy Family, 27th Dec 2015, in recognition of
the importance of the Shrine in the
spiritual life of England and of the
05
.........
Jubilee Year of Mercy, with the Holy
Door into the Slipper Chapel, have
drawn more pilgrims to Walsingham,
many of them for the first time.
The Shrine’s “spiritual pathway”
includes seven steps: walk the Holy
Mile or Pilgrim Way; pray the Stations
of Mercy; receive the Sacrament of
Reconciliation; receive Holy
Communion; enter through the Holy
Door; offer a petition in the Slipper
Chapel and both pray the Rosary as
well as light a candle. Several pilgrims
have commented to me how very helpful and
prayerful the Stations of Mercy are. Small
prayer cards are available for each of the steps.
The “firsts” have included when Mass was
celebrated in four different languages: English,
Latin, Polish and Malayalam (the main
language of Kerala, South India) and in three
different rites: the Roman Rite, the
Extraordinary Form and the Syro Malabar
Rite – all on the same day! What a wonderful
witness to the universal church.
Then within a three day period, we had a
pilgrim group from Perth, Australia and then
Indonesia, though I hasten to add that they
did not come for the day! The Perth pilgrims
were members of the Perth Cathedral
congregation and the Indonesian pilgrims were
members of the Ordinariate of the Southern
Cross, which in fact is administered from
Australia. The two groups had travelled a
combined distance of 16, 000 miles to come to
the Shrine.
As usual the pilgrimage season began on Palm
Sunday with the pilgrimage of the Filipino
Community. Pilgrims assembled at the
Anglican Shrine where they were welcomed by
the administrator, Fr Philip Barnes and I am
most grateful to the staff of the Anglican
Shrine for always making our pilgrims so
welcome. We then processed down the Pilgrim
Way with the lovely statues and tableaux of
scenes from Holy Week. The Filipino
Community do not observe the restriction on
flowers during Lent and the figures are all
garlanded. When I said to a pilgrim how
wonderful the flowers were she said that they
were nothing compared to those in the
processions in the Philippines and that I
should travel to see them; hopefully one day!
The first day pilgrimage of the Tamil
Community in May, saw increased numbers of
almost eight thousand pilgrims. One coach
had even come all the way from Yorkshire for
the day.
Diocesan Pilgrimages
so far have been
those of East Anglia,
Salford, Birmingham,
B r e n t wo od a nd
Northampton led by
either their diocesan
bishops or in the case
The Dominican Pilgrimage was led by the
Archbishop of Liverpool, the Most Revd
Malcolm McMahon OP. Coaches came from
London, Oxford and Cambridge. At the end
of Mass the Shrine Rector, Mgr John
Armitage, presented Fr Thomas Skeats OP
with a lovely statue of Our Lady of
Walsingham. Fr Skeats is the parish priest of
Our Lady of the Rosary, St Dominic’s Priory,
Haverstock Hill, London. Cardinal Nichols
this year has declared St Dominic’s Priory a
Shrine and so the statue was a gift from
England’s National Shrine to England’s
newest shrine.
Other pilgrimages have included the Catholic
Deaf Association. Mass was celebrated by
Bishop Paul Hendricks, auxiliary Bishop of
Southwark. Bishop Paul signs the Mass,
though he confided in me that he was able to
do some revision on his laptop during the
coach journey! The “Day with Mary” was
well supported and there was a very busy
programme which included the crowning of
the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham,
Mass, outdoor procession of the Blessed
06
Sacrament and enrolment in the brown
.........
scapular.
The National Association of Catholic
Families spent the last weekend of May
at the Shrine, either camping in the
fields around the Shrine or staying at
Elmham House. This year they invited
Cardinal Leo Burke to preside at a low
pontifical Mass in the extraordinary
form celebrated in the Chapel of
Reconciliation on the Saturday
afternoon. Cardinal Burke then
presided at the Pilgrim Mass on the
Sunday and in the afternoon there was a
Eucharistic Procession along the Pilgrim Way
to Elmham House gardens. This was followed
by the opportunity to bid farewell to the
Cardinal over refreshments served in Elmham
House.
Another feature of this year is that there have
been an increasing number of pilgrimages
from Syro Malabar parishes and groups. The
United Kingdom Knanaya Catholic
Chaplaincy have their own pilgrimage and
there have also been Syro Malabar
pilgrimages from Peterborough and two from
Broadstairs. A particular feature of their
pilgrimages is the colourful processions that
take place before Mass with highly coloured
and decorated umbrellas and large and
elaborate processional crosses. The National
Syro Malabar Pilgrimage is yet to come.
Of course these are not only day pilgrimages.
Over sixty groups have stayed at Elmham
Pilgrimage News
of the Archdiocese of Birmingham by Bishop
Robert Byrne Cong. Orat. It is always a
pleasure to welcome our diocesan bishop,
Bishop Alan Hopes and he gives such
tremendous support to the Shrine. Both
Brentwood and Birmingham have changed
the format of their day, owing to increased
numbers. After Mass during the afternoon
they both used to process along the Pilgrims’
Way to Elmham House Gardens for Vespers
and Benediction. The gardens can no longer
accommodate their numbers and so they now
process along the Holy Mile to the Priory
Grounds. This also means that prayers can be
said at the site of the original shrine, the site
being marked by an engraved stone. There is a
charge to go into the grounds as it is privately
owned but it is a very special moment to pray
at the site and receive Benediction with the
backdrop of the sole surviving massive East
end arch of the Priory, the so called “lonely
arch”. I would like to thank the staff of the
Walsingham Estate who are always so very
helpful in making arrangements to use the
grounds.
House this year already, including
parish groups, Walsingham Association
.........
groups and Catholic societies. Their
daily programme focuses on time spent
at the Shrine and services in the parish
church next to the accommodation.
Some groups have a day or an
afternoon “out”. There is the option of
having Mass in the chapel at Oxburgh
Hall, the home of the Bedingfeld
family, complete with a priest’s hole or
of Mass in the ruins of Castle Acre
Priory. Time spent on the coast say at
Cromer or Sheringham is popular or a
visit to a local stately home such as
Holkham Hall or Houghton Hall. Groups
also organise social evenings at Elmham
House and a visit to the Black Lion next to
the accommodation has been known! Families
are very welcome and there are family rooms
07
available. Others decide to book independently
from a group or parish. You are all welcome!
Pilgrimage News
If you have any questions about staying in
Walsingham, coming on pilgrimage or any
suggestions or comments do please contact me
either by email [email protected] or
phone 01328 820217.
With my prayers and
best wishes from the
National Shrine,
Julian Foord
Pilgrimage Coordinator
Become a Volunteer
The Shrine relies heavily on the wonderful team of helpers and stewards who
volunteer throughout the year. Their assistance is invaluable to us. Due to the
expansion of the Shrine, we would warmly welcome further volunteers to help with
the Shrine pilgrimage events. This will include staffing our retail and refreshment
stalls during our major pilgrimages of the season.
If you would be interested in further information and an informal chat, please
contact us at [email protected] or call 01328 820495.
We look forward to hearing from you
How else can you help the Shrine?
You could also help the Shrine by joining the Walsingham Association, shopping
online or in-store at the Slipper Chapel and Ora et Labora shops, organising a day
pilgrimage or a residential pilgrimage at Elmham House, making a donation
towards our development project and by praying for the staff and pilgrims.
Thank you for your support
Walsingham
Association
Dear Member,
I do hope that 2016 has been a good year for
you so far. I am sure that it has had its
challenges as well as its joys but the Year of
Mercy has been and continues to be a
wonderful source of joy and has helped put life
into perspective and establish priorities.
Walsingham Association
Of course I have the joy of living near the
Shrine but do remember that you can
watch the daily Pilgrim Mass and
09
homily “streamed” on the Shrine website
.........
www.walsingham.org.uk I am well
aware that many members do not have
access to a computer but several do. I
have had a letter from two members
who live in Malta who watch the daily
Mass and a phone call from a member
who lives in the West Country who also
watches daily and her neighbour, a
Methodist, sometimes joins her. As a
very recent convert to the whole world of
the internet and information technology
– as my nineteen and sixteen year old
children constantly remind me! – it has
taken me time to master the basics but
there is often a member of the family
who can help and a basic laptop computer can
now be bought for about £200 and a second
hand one from a reputable shop is less. For
those who do not wish to go down this route, I
do hope that the
newsletter helps you
feel close to the Shrine.
A lovely piece of news
to share with you is
that we now have our
first Association branch
overseas. A branch has
been established based at
the Church of St John the
Evangelist, Calgary,
Ontario, Canada. This is
very much thanks to the
initiative of Fr Lee
Kenyon VF and I do thank him for this
tremendous support. After the dreadful wildfire
that caused so much damage to the town of
Fort McMurray and affected almost 20,000
square miles of forest in Ontario, Mgr John
Armitage offered Mass for the people of Fort
McMurray. It was very special to feel that the
National Shrine of England was able to hold
the people of Fort McMurray in its prayers.
I had the great pleasure of staying for the
weekend as a guest of the Peterborough Branch
of the Association. I stayed with Canon John
Minh, the parish priest of St Luke’s,
Peterborough. Father is one of the new Canons
of St John’s Cathedral, Norwich, where the
College of Canons was only recently
established. Canon John is not only the parish
priest of a large parish but known for his work
in prisons and I was heartened to hear from
him that he enjoys good relations with the
Muslim Chaplains. I spoke on four occasions,
at a branch lunch and then after three Masses
in three different churches and I am most
grateful to the parish priests for allowing me to
do this. We had the hundredth member sign up
after Mass and the committee then kindly
invited me to lunch to celebrate. I did have a
lovely photograph of the committee but I am
afraid that I have just discovered that I have
somehow managed to delete it. Perhaps my
waistline was too prominent?! My thanks to the
committee for their hospitality. If any branch
would like me to speak to their members do
please let me know.
An added bonus of my visit was that I was
taken to Peterborough Cathedral to visit the
The Spring Meeting Weekend was a great
success. It was a particular pleasure to
welcome Dr John Ashdown-Hill as our guest
for the weekend and as our guest speaker on
Saturday afternoon. John is a long standing
member of the Association and he was
responsible for proving that the bones found
under a car park in Leicester were those of
Richard III. John traced a descendant of King
Richard through the female line and took her
DNA and was able to match this with the
bones. Needless to say his presentation on this
work was absolutely fascinating.
A very big thank you to all members who have
been so generous in making donations either to
the daily maintenance of the Shrine or to the
Development Fund. I know that Mgr
Armitage really appreciates the work and
support of the Association.
Several members have already booked for the
WA Retreat from Tuesday 8th to Friday 11th
November. If you would like to come, do
please phone, email or write to me. Fr Tim
Bugby has a very good reputation as a retreat
leader. You are most welcome to introduce a
friend to the Association Retreat. The cost is
£124 for a standard room and £191 for an
en suite room which includes all meals.
I am also delighted to share the wonderful
news that our guests of honour at the AGM
Dinner are Sir Henry and Lady Mary
Bedingfeld who live at Oxburgh Hall
and make our members who have Mass
10
in their chapel so welcome. They will .........
talk after dinner on “Life at Oxburgh”
which should be very interesting from
their perspective. The Bedingfelds have
lived at Oxburgh Hall since Tudor
times.
Did you spot the “deliberate error” in the
March newsletter? I am afraid that the
booking form for the AGM Weekend
from the 11th to 13th November, stated it
as the Spring Meeting although the dates
were correct - the dangers of copy and
paste! If you would like to book for the
AGM meeting, just return the form or
again give me a ring or email.
Walsingham Association
grave of Catherine of Aragon. I have never
had the nerve to go to the cathedral myself as I
have always had to contend with the
nightmare of all the ring roads, (it is rumoured
that the total amount of the ring roads is over
sixty miles), making my way to the centre of
the city, and then not being able to make my
way out of the city! It was very moving to pray
at Catherine of Aragon’s grave. I was
interested to learn that there is a Catholic
Mass yearly in the cathedral and that the
Spanish ambassador visits the grave every year.
I was also amused to be looked after by a very
helpful lady in the cathedral shop, who was
Catholic.
You will find enclosed some tickets for the
National Draw. I would be very grateful if you
could support the Shrine by selling as many
tickets as you can. The Draw does a great deal
to support the work of the Shrine. Please see
last year’s winners and the amount raised
printed separately in this newsletter.
Do please contact me if ever I can be of help.
You may have a query or suggestion. I look
forward to hearing from you.
With my prayers and best
wishes from Walsingham,
Julian Foord
National Secretary
The Story of “Walsingham Support”
Walsingham Support, a national disability
charity that was founded in its locational
namesake, is celebrating 30 years of
supporting people with disabilities in
2016. Originally called Walsingham
Community Homes, the charity was set up
in 1986 to provide accommodation and
support for people with learning
disabilities in small, locally based
Christian-run homes.
11
The idea of forming a charity was
.........
Walsingham Support
first discussed by founder and
current Honorary President Mark
Snell in 1984, while on an away day
in Walsingham, Norfolk, with
colleagues from the organisation he
worked for at the time, the Pastoral
Office for Handicapped People
(POHP). An agency of Westminster
diocese, POHP was supported by
many parents who had children
with learning disabilities and were
concerned as to who would support
their children when they could no
longer support them.
Mark explains: “We recognised that the
church was not going to be able to undertake
this work and we talked around many
solutions. Around 18 months later my contract
with the diocese came to an end and the time
had come for me to seek
another job.”
With the support of
family, church leaders
and a small group of
parents, Mark decided
to see if it was possible
to set up a charity. His
first thought was what it
should be called.
“I set off to drive to the POHP offices in
Hendon, but on a whim I ended up travelling
to Walsingham instead. I spent the day there
and on visiting the Catholic and Anglican
Shrines, I noticed that both were devoted to
Christian unity. It then occurred to me that
people with learning disabilities had an
intuitive belief in God. As such I felt that they
had an important role in bringing churches
together and that an appropriate name for the
charity would be Walsingham.”
‘Community Homes’ was later added to
the name, with the hope that the homes
the charity opened would become
communities.
“I returned home that evening happy that we
had found a great name and with the support
of the shrine, ‘Our Lady of Walsingham’, had
every chance of making the charity a success.”
Choosing the name was the easy part,
however, as the charity didn’t become a
success overnight. It would be 18 months
before Walsingham Community Homes
would open its first service in Watford,
and a lack of funding meant that the
charity came very close to folding even
before getting started. Call it divine
intervention, luck or chance, Walsingham
Community Homes was thrown an
unexpected, lifeline by the nuns at the
Poor Clares monastery in Arkley, Barnet.
“I had never heard of the nuns until a letter
from them arrived in the post with an enclosed
cheque for £5,000” - says Mark. “The money
had been bequeathed to them and while their
monastery needed maintenance, they felt that
our need was greater than theirs. The money
was a gift but they said that if we were ever in
a position to repay it, they would be grateful.
To this day I do not know how they heard of us
or of our plight at the time. The money saw us
through to the opening of our first service and
we were able to repay them within a few
years.”
“We opened five new services in 1989 in
Hertfordshire, Basildon and Barnet. Over the
following seven years, we opened 28 new
residential care services in Hertfordshire,
Bedfordshire, Middlesbrough, Sutton, Kent
and Cumbria. The organisation started out
with the principle that everyone is created by
God and equally valued, no matter what their
ability, and we wanted all of our staff to
recognise this and treat people in that way.
That principle still exists today – we still work
to increase the quality of life and happiness of
every person we support.”
There have seen some huge changes in
how people with learning disabilities are
supported over the last 30 years,
particularly following the publishing of
the government’s 2001 white paper
'Valuing People', which ushered in a sea
change. People with learning disabilities
now have more choice about where they
live, who they live with and who supports
them.
Walsingham Support has continued to
develop and grow. While still offering
residential care, it also provides supported
living, floating support, outreach, moving
“For this reason and the decision to also
start supporting people with other needs
like autism and brain injuries, the
organisation underwent a rebrand in
2015. The rebrand saw the addition of
the word ‘Support’ at the end of
Walsingham, to better describe what the
organisation does, with a new strapline
‘Everyone is different’.”
Walsingham Support
In the late eighties the government started
closing long stay hospitals for people with
learning disabilities and transition them
into homes within local communities.
Walsingham Community Homes quickly
established a reputation for providing
good quality care and were awarded
several contracts by the health authorities.
on services, as well as services for people
receiving individualised budgets. As a
result of the change of service types, the
organisation dropped ‘Community
Homes’ from its title in 2003 and simply
became Walsingham. The birth and
development of the personalisation
agenda over the past 10 years has seen
welcomed changes to care with
person centred support - adapting
12
the support to each person’s
.........
individual needs - becoming the
norm.
Under the watch of Paul, one of
Mark’s sons who took over as Chief
Executive in 2005, the organisation has
grown to now support around 400 people
in over 180 locations in the UK,
including Cumbria, Middlesbrough,
Redcar, Staffordshire, Hertfordshire,
Bedfordshire, Essex, Kent, London,
Somerset, Swansea and Neath Port
Talbot. The charity also employs around
900 members of staff and was recognised
for its investment in its workforce in 2015
by being awarded the coveted Investors in
People Gold award.
So what’s next? As ever, Walsingham
Support has no intention of slowing
down, especially in its 30th year, and
continues to look at new ways of
supporting people.
Having taken over a community centre in
Walsingham Support
Swansea in 2015, it is in the process of
launching a number of social enterprises
from it to support people with disabilities
to develop skills and build links with the
wider community. Meanwhile, the
charity has also bought and converted a
building in Cumbria into a number of
accessible apartments that will offer
people with disabilities further
independent living opportunities.
13
To mark its 30th anniversary,
.........
Walsingham Support is planning a
series of fundraising events,
including a skydive and entering a
team of runners in the 2016
Vitality British 10K London Run,
to raise £30,000. The organisation
is also inviting the public to help it
reach its target by holding their
own fundraising event. A
fundraising pack has been
developed and is available to
re q ue st from its we bsite ,
www.walsingham.com/fundraising.
The funds raised will be used to launch
new projects and purchase equipment
that will support people with disabilities
to achieve their goals and live a more
independent life.
Paul Snell added: “This is a very exciting
time for Walsingham Support as it’s our first
step into fundraising as an organisation. Over
the years we have developed some strong
relationships with the local communities
where we support people and are keen for
everyone to be a part of our celebrations.”
Sister Wendy Renate RIP
It is with great sadness that I announce that Sister Wendy Renate
SOLR at the age of 64, who lived, worked and prayed in Walsingham
died on Wednesday 23rd March 2016 at around 6.45 am at the
Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn, Norfolk after a very short
illness. She is survived by her sister, Denise.
Sister Wendy Renate was born on 13th January 1952 into an army family, so there was a lot of
moving from place to place. She had some very interesting stories to tell about that time in her life,
including the one where she was being chased by the Redcaps, after ‘putting her boot’ through a
glass door on camp, but as throughout her life she managed to escape!
One day her Parish Priest suggested that she might have a vocation to the religious life and
pointed her in the direction of The Society of St Margaret, an Anglican Order. She agreed to
test her vocation, but ran away back to South Yorkshire only to be told by the Lord, ‘what are
you doing here? I want you back there!’ So she went back, spending time at both the London
house and Walsingham. And so she became a Sister of St. Margaret. She served at the
Anglican Shrine of Our Lady in Walsingham in the Sacristy and in the village community.
Six years ago she became a Catholic in Westminster Cathedral, much to her delight and those
around her. Her joy was almost complete.
She spent two years in London after this, serving in the Parish of Our Lady, Limehouse, but she
didn’t really settle there and was thrilled to return to Walsingham to serve in the National
Catholic Shrine in Walsingham as a member of the Sacristy team and praying with pilgrims and
making people laugh or cry with her jokes and funny take on life.
She was unique and much loved by all she came into contact with her. She was in love with our
Lord and Our Lady, the rosary or ‘battle beads’ as she preferred to call them were her daily prayers.
God bless you Sr Wendy Renate, we are praying for you, please pray for us. May your joy now be
complete. Rest in Peace.
Sr Jane Louise
RIP Sister Wendy Renate
After leaving school and settling into Staine Cross in South Yorkshire, Sister Wendy worked in a
rubber factory. She spent about twelve years making hot water bottles and other rubberised
items, including babies’ dummies for Suba Seal. Whenever she saw a hot water bottle she
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always had to check if they had made them properly. She took great delight in explaining the .........
process to anyone who wished, or not, to hear. Working on the factory floor was not for the
faint-hearted, but throughout all this experience her faith was growing in the love of the Lord
and she would talk openly of her faith with those who had little or none. She then began
looking at the Church Army to see if this was where the Lord was leading her. But this was
not the way.
Pilgrim’s poem
Poem written by a Pilgrim from Our Lady Star of the Sea, Greenwich
Pilgrim’s poem
When April's gentle rains have pierced
the drought of March right to the root
On pilgrimage then folks desire to start.
Some jet off to distant lands
But from the Starry Sea in London
They gather by the church at sundown
To Walsingham they wend,
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to seek the Blessed Virgin is their will
.........
The one who gave such help
when they were ill.
To Joseph's church with hearts devout
At night some twenty nine of sundry folk
Whom chance had brought to fall
In fellowship, for pilgrims were they all.
Robin's son - a goodly priest
Well known in Greenwich, south and east
A good man of religion too
The Christian gospel he would truly preach
Devoutly his parishioners to teach.
He led this group with cheerful voice
And sang the hymns - all did rejoice.
There were there too,
some holy nuns, a sisterhood
Of women loyal and true who laboured hard
In thought and deed to everyone
who was in need of succour or of help
- and they did everything they could.
The others in that company,
from every land they'd travelled far
To seek their fortune at the Star,
from Portugal or sunny Spain
Or far off Africa's distant plain.
And then in Walsingham they found their beds
where they could rest their weary heads.
But in the morn, despite the rain,
they raised their voice to sing again,
The praises of the Virgin fair,
in chapel, church and on the street
And smiled and bowed to all they meet.
The afternoon was spent at sea
(Stella Maris, don't you see)
They felt it only right and just
To give God thanks for sand
and dust and all creation
These people fine of every nation.
And when the Lord's Day bright did dawn
In great procession they did form
And told their beads and sang their hymns
And thought upon their many sins.
They entered in the Holy door
And water sprinkled cold and pure
Sent their prayers right up to heaven
From seven to seventy times the seven.
The Sunday Mass gave joy to all So many were they by the wall
Who received the bread and wine
They never noticed that the time
Had passed the second hour.
To dinner then the pilgrims went
And celebrated with a cake
The birthday of their sister dear
She was the one who kept them merry
How right that she was naméd Mari-Anne
to honour our dear mother - and her mum
And when the pilgrimage was done
And when they saw the setting sun'
Go down and set the Thames aglow
They gave God thanks for all the show.
Jane Chaucer-Lawson
National Draw Winners 2015
£500
Mrs Dod, Pickering
Ticket 28906
£100
Mr and Mrs Mulkeen, Leeds
Ticket 37661
After the cost of printing and prizes, the
National Draw raised £3,744. This is a
tremendous achievement as this is almost
£700 more than the previous year. Thank
you all for your support in selling and
buying tickets. Thank you also to those
who made a donation on top of the cost
of the tickets.
The money raised has been used to pay
for the restoration of the shepherds’ huts.
They were featured in the Spring
Fifth: £50
Marjorie Muir,
Dunbarton
Ticket 01355
Sixth: £25
Fr Chris Stephenson
Ticket 29969
Seventh: £25
Mr J Rubbins, Downham Market
Ticket 00349
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.........
National Draw Winners 2015
£100
M V Snell
Ticket 00785
Fourth: £100
Rob Beckwith
Ticket 21335
newsletter.
They were originally purchased by
Fr Bruno Scott James to provide basic
accommodation for people wanting to
spend time at the Shrine in prayer and
contemplation.
They have recently been used for storage
and it is wonderful to know that they will
be in use again as Fr Bruno intended.
Support the Basilica
In 1061 Our Lady asked Richeldis de Faverches to build a replica of the Holy House of
Nazareth. With the destruction in the 16th century, the infrastructure to welcome
pilgrims was destroyed. In 1896 Charlotte Boyd bought the Slipper Chapel, and the
development of the facilities to receive pilgrims was re-established.
The generosity of thousands of pilgrims over the years has given us land and property
where we can celebrate our faith, and at this time in the Shrine’s history we need to create
an infrastructure that will serve today’s pilgrims and the generations who, over the
centuries, will continue to find peace at Our Lady’s Shrine.
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.........
We are therefore looking to upgrade, renew, and, where necessary, rebuild facilities
for day-pilgrims and residential pilgrims. In particular, we wish to create a new
resource centre for young people and make our residential facilities available to
disabled pilgrims.
Support the Basilica
support through prayer
Pledge a number of Rosaries this
year for the successful completion of
the Shrine’s development
mission team donation
Support the Shrine’s Mission Team
in their work with
the New Evangelisation
sponsored activity
One-off donation
Give a one-off donation to support
the development of the Shrine
Regular donation
Give a regular donation to support
the development of the Shrine
Legacy / bequest
Support the Shrine’s development
by organising a
sponsored walk or activity
Leave the Shrine a gift in the form
of legacy in your will
light a candle
memorial fund
Light a candle in support
of the Shrine’s development
and its facilities
Leave a donation in memory
of a member of your family
or another loved one
For further information, please visit the website: www.walsingham.org.uk/donate
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.........
Please pray for the souls of the following who have
died this last year. May they rest in peace. Amen
Yvonne Blakemore
Milly Borland
Mrs J Brown
Dominic Corrigan
Mr E Curwen
Fred Davis
Mrs A Durrant
Mrs Glynn
Mr Hearn
Mrs W M Hudson
Mr A Ingle
Mr R Jones
Mrs K A Plumb
Christine Purcel
Christoph Rimmer
Mr P Rogers
Patrick Shepherd
Mary Shyne
Mr G Stretton
Faye Sullivan
Mrs D Tobin
Patrick Toone
Mrs J C Toone
Mgr E Walker
Prayers
P ray e r s