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Diamond Jubilee
Church Appeal Success
4 March 2008 - For immediate distribution
Student Cross celebrates 60 years of pilgrimage
THE oldest annual pilgrimage in Britain will be celebrating its diamond
anniversary this year when more than 250 pilgrims walk around 120 miles
during Holy Week.
Student Cross, which began in 1948, starts on Friday 14 March and finishes in Walsingham, Norfolk, on Easter Sunday.
David Ring, National Organiser of Student Cross for 2008, said: "Student Cross is a week which is physically demanding but spiritually uplifting. Being on pilgrimage together helps us grow in all sorts of unexpected.
"We lead (and occasionally drag) each other out of our comfort zones – physical, social, spiritual – through some tough walking, refreshing liturgy, and close friendship. It is a very tiring journey but spirits are constantly raised by the people we walk with and by the parishioners we meet and who help us on our routes."
The pilgrimage is made up of ten groups or 'Legs' who walk to Walsingham to meet and celebrate the Easter weekend. Each leg carries a large wooden cross as a visible witness to their Christian faith.
Six of these groups, or 'Legs', walk an average of 120 miles over Holy Week. A seventh group starts on the Wednesday and there are also two Legs for families which meet for a week of activities and short walks in Norfolk.
There is also a Leg, primarily for older walkers and those who can't manage a whole week, which walks from North Elmham to Walsingham on Good Friday morning.
Christians of all denominations walk Student Cross, as well as people who would not call themselves Christian but who are also searching for spiritual meaning in their lives. Most Legs have a majority of Roman Catholic walkers. Despite the name, Student Cross attracts people from all walks of life. Many of them have walked Student Cross before but return again and again.
Mr Ring said: "For Student Cross to have been around for 60 years is a fantastic achievement. It also shows that Christianity is still flourishing in today’s society."
He added: "Student Cross is about more than just those that walk. The Legs receive incredible support the way from parishioners and residents who often feed and house pilgrims for the night. The pilgrimage is an important part of the Easter preparation for many parishes we walk through and everyone who helps us get to Walsingham, as well as those who welcome us there are part of the pilgrimage."
Photo opportunities during the 2008 pilgrimage
Student Cross statistics
- Student Cross first started walking from London to Walsingham in 1948. It was originally a male-only Catholic pilgrimage and pilgrims had to carry all of their belongings.
- Northern Leg started in 1949, leaving from Nottingham. Since then, Oxford (1962), Midland (1971), Essex (1972) and Kettering (1975) have also started, walking for the full week.
- Ely Leg was started in 1996. It starts on the Wednesday and is predominantly for pre-university teenagers and those that can’t walk the whole week.
- The two family legs – Peg and Wells – start on the Monday. Wells Leg is the newest, having begun in 2006.
- Easter Leg, which just walks on Good Friday, celebrated its 50th anniversary last year
- Women officially started walking in 1966, though, previously, there had been many occasions when they helped carry the cross while 'stronger' men recovered from their blisters and other ailments.
- Christians of other denominations started walking Student Cross in the 1960s. Although, Student Cross is still predominantly Catholic, hundred of fellow Christians have walked and will continue to walk on Student Cross.
- Famous people to have walked Student Cross include Big Brother 2006 winner Pete Bennett (albeit as a child), novelist David Lodge and Bishop of Portsmouth Mgr Crispian Hollis.
- Student Cross is the longest running annual pilgrimage in Britain. Walsingham itself was one of the biggest pilgrimage sites in the world during the middle ages until the Reformation.
For further information, please contact David Ring. Tel: 07896 541 266 (between 15-23 March)