Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham [1] | |
---|---|
"Chapel of Saint Catherine of Alexandria" | |
"The Slipper Chapel" | |
Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham [4] | |
52°52′52″N0°51′12″E / 52.88112°N 0.85331°E | |
Location | Houghton Saint Giles |
Country | England |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Website | Official website |
History | |
Status | Active |
Founded | 1340 |
Architecture | |
Functional status | National Shrine |
Heritage designation | Grade I listed [5] |
Designated | 6 March 1959 |
Architect(s) | Thomas Garner |
Style | Gothic Romanesque |
Administration | |
Diocese | Diocese of East Anglia |
Clergy | |
Bishop(s) | Peter Collins |
Rector | Philip Moger |
The Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham, [6] informally known as the Slipper Chapel or the Chapel of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, is a Catholic basilica in Houghton Saint Giles, Norfolk, England. Built in 1340, it was the last chapel on the pilgrim route to Walsingham.
Pope Pius XII granted a canonical coronation to the venerated statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Walsingham presently enshrined within the chapel on 15 August 1954.
Pope Francis raised the sanctuary to the status of a minor basilica via an apostolic decree on 27 December 2015.
When the Slipper Chapel was built, Walsingham was second only to Canterbury in the ranks of importance in English pilgrimage.
In 1538, after King Henry VIII's English Reformation, the chapel fell into disuse and was variously used as a poor house, a forge, a cowshed [7] [8] and a barn. [9] In 1863, the chapel was identified by a wealthy local woman, Miss Charlotte Pearson Boyd (1837–1906), a convert to Catholicism from Anglicanism. She bought the building from the farm owner in 1896, restored it and then donated the chapel to Downside Abbey for Catholic use. [10] On 6 February 1897, the chapel was re-established as a shrine authorising the image for public veneration by papal rescript from Pope Leo XIII. It was restored in 1904 by Thomas Garner.
On the Feast of the Assumption, 15 August 1934, the Bishop of Northampton, Laurence Youens celebrated the first public Mass in the Slipper Chapel for four hundred years, and two days later Cardinal Francis Bourne led a national pilgrimage of the Catholic bishops of England and Wales and more than 10,000 people to the shrine. From this date it became the Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady. [11]
Twenty years later on 15 August 1954, Pope Pius XII delegated his Papal nuncio, Monsignor Gerald O'Hara to crown the venerated image of the Virgin Mary under the same title in his apostolic name, funded by gold donated by female devotees and accompanied by his papal bull from the Sacred Congregation of Rites.
Moments after the coronation ceremony, two white doves descended on the lap of the image, which was considered miraculous by devotees. [12] [13] The ceremony was accompanied by both British and American pilots who sponsored the security for the event, and devotees who processed barefoot in the "Holy Mile" leading into the shrine.
Many modern pilgrims remove their shoes at the Slipper Chapel and walk the last mile, called the "Holy Mile", into Walsingham barefoot. The Slipper Chapel contains a stone statue of the Virgin Mary carved by Marcel Barbeau. The statue was taken to Wembley to be blessed by Pope John Paul II when he visited England on 29 May 1982.
Each year on 8 September, on the Feast of the Birth of Our Lady, the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham is carried for several miles in a procession which begins at the Slipper Chapel. [7]
The Grade II listed presbytery was built in 1904, probably by Garner. [14] Today, the complex surrounding the Slipper Chapel includes a Chapel of Reconciliation, built in 1982, which can seat up to 350 people for services and can be opened towards the pilgrimage area in occasion of bigger ceremonies; a bookshop; and a tearoom.
In 2007 the Slipper Chapel featured in the BBC documentary series How We Built Britain , presented by David Dimbleby. [15] [16]
Pope Francis raised the sanctuary to the status of a minor basilica on 27 December 2015, along with the Catholic shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham via a pontifical decree from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. [17] [18] [19]
Walsingham is a civil parish in North Norfolk, England, famous for its religious shrines in honour of Mary, mother of Jesus. It also contains the ruins of two medieval monastic houses. Walsingham is 27 miles (43 km) northwest of Norwich.
Kevelaer is a town in the district of Kleve, in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is the largest Catholic pilgrimage location within north-western Europe. Over one million Marian devotees, mostly from Germany and the Netherlands, visit the Basilica of Kevelaer every year to honour the Blessed Virgin Mary. The population in 2019 was 28,021.
Our Lady of China, the Great Mother, also known as Our Lady of Donglü, is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a reputed Marian apparition in Donglü, China in 1900.
Our Lady of Aparecida, is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with the Immaculate Conception.
Our Lady of Walsingham is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus venerated by Catholics and High Church Anglicans associated with the Marian apparitions to Richeldis de Faverches, a pious English noblewoman, in 1061 in the village of Walsingham in Norfolk, England. Lady Richeldis had a structure built named "The Holy House" in Walsingham which later became a shrine and place of pilgrimage.
Our Lady of Lourdes is a title of the Virgin Mary. She is venerated under this title by the Roman Catholic Church due to her apparitions that occurred in Lourdes, France. The first apparition of 11 February 1858, of which Bernadette Soubirous told her mother that a "Lady" spoke to her in the cave of Massabielle while she was gathering firewood with her sister and a friend. Similar apparitions of the "Lady" were reported on 18 occasions that year, until the climax revelation in which she introduced herself as: "the Immaculate Conception". On 18 January 1862, the local Bishop of Tarbes Bertrand-Sévère Laurence endorsed the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes.
The Basilica of Holy Mary, the Help of Christians also known as the National Shrine of Our Mother of Sheshan is a Roman Catholic Marian shrine in Shanghai, China. Its name comes from the locality of Sheshan Hill in Songjiang District, to the west of Shanghai's metropolitan area.
Our Lady of Manaoag is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated in Manaoag, Pangasinan, the Philippines. The sacred statue is referred to as Apo Baket in the native language of local devotees.
Mary, the Help of Christians is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, based on a devotion now associated with a feast day of the General Roman Calendar on 24 May.
Catholic Marian churches are religious buildings dedicated to the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These churches were built throughout the history of the Catholic Church, and today they can be found on every continent including Antarctica. The history of Marian church architecture tells the unfolding story of the development of Catholic Mariology.
Our Lady of Charity is a celebrated Marian title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated in many Catholic countries.
Our Lady of Luján is a celebrated 16th-century statue of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The image, also known as the Virgin of Luján, is on display in the Basilica of Luján in Argentina. The feast day of Our Lady of Luján is May 8.
Our Lady of Šiluva is Roman Catholic image of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated at the Basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Šiluva shrine in Lithuania. The patriotic icon is highly venerated in Lithuania and is often called Lithuania's greatest treasure.
Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary – La Naval de Manila is a venerated title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with the same image in the Philippines. Pious believers believe that the Virgin's intercession under this title helped to defeat the invading forces of the Protestant Dutch Republic during the Battles of La Naval de Manila in 1646.
Our Mother of Sheshan or Our Lady of Sheshan (佘山聖母), also known as Our Mother of Zo-sè, is a celebrated Marian title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by Chinese Roman Catholics. Among its religious devotees, the statue is sometimes known as Our Lady of Luck or Our Lady of Good Luck due to the Chinese symbology of "Fu" (福) associated with the styling posture of the entire image. The original image is currently enshrined in the National Shrine and Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Sheshan, in Shanghai, China.
The Basilica of Notre Dame of Geneva is a Roman Catholic church and Minor Basilica located in Geneva, Switzerland. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Our Lady of Arabia is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding a Rosary and the Child Jesus, as venerated in Kuwait and Bahrain by its faithful devotees. Under this venerated Marian title, she is designated as the patroness of the Apostolic Vicariates of Northern and Southern Arabia.
The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag, commonly known as Manaoag Church, is a Roman Catholic minor basilica located in Manaoag, Pangasinan in the Philippines.
Our Lady of Consolation or Mary, Comforter of the Afflicted is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated in the Catholic Church.
Our Lady of the Annunciation Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. It was built in 1897, but incorporates parts of the former church on the same site that was built in 1845 and designed by Augustus Pugin. It is located on the corner of London Road and North Everard Street in the centre of the town. Its construction was partially paid for by the then Prince of Wales, Edward VII. It was also the national shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham until 1934. It is now a pontifical shrine, and was awarded Grade II listed status in 2022.