Some stumble upon a pilgrimage not knowing what to expect, they just have a calling to
go.
Our trips are mostly comprised of individuals not knowing one another. In the
beginning the unknown might be scary, yet by the time pilgrimage is over we will gain
faith, courage, and new friends that will last a lifetime.
We know that God does honour that
which we pray for and our Churches are
living testimony to how enriching these
experiences have been at a very local
level.
As it stands, East Midlands Pilgrimages
grew out of the idea that taking people
who were new in the faith on a
pilgrimage might be an experience from which they would benefit. Aside from our yearly
pilgrimage to Walsingham in Norfolk, our first ‘abroad’ trip was to Fatima to join the Holy
Father, Pope Benedict XVI on 13th May to celebrate Our Lady of Fatima’s Day. Numerically
this was a small pilgrimage, but spiritually was enormous. All the pilgrims came back with a
renewed sense of purpose and vigour; and at a time when many of our Churches needed
that boost.
This experience then developed into our first large Pilgrimage - that which was to Rome.
Over fifty pilgrims went from the East Midlands (for some, a once in a lifetime occasion,
and for others, the first time they had ever left the UK). At that point we knew that there
was a very definite interest locally. The most recent pilgrimage was to the Shrine of Our
Lady of Lourdes - again numerically larger than the one before and this time with a very
definite feeling that we were a group of people, who because of our pilgrimage history
Where do we go from here? With the help of modern technology (to say nothing of our
own Ross Copley who understands how to use it!), the organisation of our Pilgrimages now
is kept in house. This means that, for the vast majority of the things that we organise, we
are ‘cutting out the middle man’ and getting a much better deal for our pilgrims. In effect
therefore, we are not paying quite large sums of money to a tour company, when we are
now able to do these things ourselves.
This will enable more people to participate in that walk towards God that makes the
difference between a holiday and a pilgrimage so very profound in the lives of the believers
who participate in this ancient and wonderful act of pilgrimage. We at East Midlands
Pilgrimages look forward to enabling many more pilgrims on this journey in the future as
we walk together towards the God who recreates and sustains us still.
5
A little of our history...
together were getting to know one another much better.