The Archbishop of Canterbury’s six-day pilgrimage walk from St Paul’s Cathedral finished on Sunday 22 March with a warm welcome at Canterbury Cathedral.
The pilgrimage route covered 140km and travelled through four dioceses, with the last part of the journey including visits to church and school communities in the Diocese of Canterbury.
Pilgrims walking by the river Stour, photo credit: Neil Turner/Lambeth Palace
On Friday 20 March the pilgrimage entered the Diocese on a rural leg of the journey where Archbishop Sarah visited parishes including Boxley, Bredgar and Detling.
On Saturday pupils from three church schools gathered at Ospringe CE Primary School for worship and lunch with the Archbishop. Pupils from Ospringe had designed the shell symbol used on the prayer card and pilgrim passports used throughout the walk. In Faversham, Archbishop Sarah paused for prayer at the Shrine of St Jude and ended the day at St Mary of Charity.
On Sunday, the final stretch of the pilgrimage wound through Boughton-under-Blean and Chartham, where church communities joined the pilgrimage as the group neared Canterbury.
Joining the walk at Thanington, writer Tanya Marlow said: “As a Canterbury local I was struck by that history and symbolism of re-entering the pilgrimage where all the pilgrims used to come and go to the cathedral; that sense of being part of history and of course making new history with archbishop Sarah as the first female archbishop. There’s something about the ordinariness of being able to walk and talk with a leader, and I hope that feels a bit more like Jesus and a community that we’re in this all together.”
One of the young people from St Mary’s, Chartham who took part in the pilgrimage said: “It’s really cool, because I remember meeting Bishop Rose, and now I’m meeting Archbishop Sarah, so it’s just really great. Good luck in the future [Archbishop Sarah] and keep going!”
Archbishop Sarah entered Canterbury via the Westgate Gardens with fellow pilgrims and was greeted civic representatives, including Lord Mayor Keji Moses as well as the Bishop of Dover and the Dean of Canterbury.
Archbishop Sarah arrives at Canterbury Cathedral, photo credit: Neil Turner/Lambeth Palace
Addressing those who had gathered at the pilgrims’ stone outside Canterbury Cathedral at the end of the pilgrimage, Archbishop Sarah said:
“The pilgrimage from London to Canterbury, from Bishop of London to Archbishop of Canterbury has been an opportunity for me to walk with God but into God, and with other people, and so I would like to thank you all for your support, whichever part you played in this walk, this pilgrimage, to have accompanied me on the way, whether physically or in prayer. I am very grateful for that and look forward very much to you joining with me either in person, or online or in prayer on Wednesday as we pray for the Church, the Anglican Communion and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be known by all.”
The installation service of the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Reverend Sarah Mullally, will be broadcast on BBC1 on Wednesday 25 March from 2:30pm.
For those without a TV license or wanting to stream it in their church, the service will also be available to stream on the Church of England YouTube channel.
Signing the pilgrim book, photo credit: Neil Turner/Lambeth Palace