The decision comes at the request of Cardinal Vincent Nichols, President of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
Newsroom(24/07/2024 12:50, Gaudium Press) The devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham, which until now was celebrated in England and Wales as an obligatory Memorial, has received authorization from the Holy See to be elevated to the category of Feast and can be celebrated in English dioceses from next September 24.
Growing devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham
The decision comes at the request of Cardinal Vincent Nichols, President of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. According to Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, such a move would not normally be made, but an exception has been made.
“Given the historical importance of this Shrine for the Church in England and Wales, which dates back just over a thousand years, and given the growing devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham that is attested, the Dicastery has decided that, as an exception, the request may be granted,” reads an excerpt from the document.
Source of renewed grace and evangelical effort
Cardinal Roche expressed his hope “that this annual celebration will be a source of renewed grace and evangelical effort for the Church in England and Wales, so that, in imitation of Mary, the faithful may be converted and become disciples of her Son, receive the message of the Gospel, keep it in their hearts and reflect it in their minds”.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham was founded in 1061 by Richeldis de Faverches after Our Lady appeared to him and asked him to build a replica of the House of the Annunciation in Walsingham as a perpetual memorial to the Annunciation. (EPC)
Compiled by Teresa Joseph
