(Photo: Lambeth Palace)
The Archbishop of Canterbury will undertake a six-day pilgrimage before she is installed as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury later this month.
The London to Canterbury pilgrimage has been described as the first journey of its kind by a new archbishop in modern times.
The 140km walk will begin on Tuesday and end on Sunday 22 March, just days before her installation at Canterbury Cathedral on Wednesday 25 March. The timing has drawn some criticism from pro-lifers as it falls over an important vote in the House of Lords on removing criminal penalties for women aborting their unborn baby at any stage in the pregnancy.
The pilgrimage is intended to help prepare herself spiritually for her public ministry in the Church of England and across the Anglican Communion.
Dame Sarah, who was recently formally confirmed as Archbishop of Canterbury at St Paul’s Cathedral, will travel the Becket Camino from St Paul’s to Canterbury Cathedral with her husband, Eamonn.
The route will take in sections of the Thames Path, the Via Britannica and the Augustine Camino, echoing both the ancient tradition of pilgrimage to Canterbury and her own move from Bishop of London to Archbishop of Canterbury.
During the journey, she will attend Morning and Evening Prayer services at churches, cathedrals and abbeys, while also gathering with other pilgrims, visiting schools and spending time with ecumenical groups. In a statement, Archbishop Mullally said she was keen to meet and pray with them as well as hear their stories.
Stops include Southwark Cathedral, Rochester Cathedral, Lesnes Abbey, Aylesford Priory and the Shrine of St Jude in Faversham.
Dean of Canterbury David Monteith and members of the cathedral chapter will join the final leg from Chartham into Canterbury, with the Archbishop due to reach the cathedral in time for Evensong on Sunday.
Pupils at Ospringe Church of England Primary School in Faversham created a pilgrim’s passport for the journey and prayer cards carrying a prayer written by pupils from The Archbishop’s School in Canterbury will also be handed out during the walk.
Archbishop Mullally said: “As I prepare for my installation at Canterbury Cathedral, it feels deeply humbling to be following in the footsteps of those who have walked this ancient route.
“As I walk this path I will be praying for our Church and our world, and asking God to bless those we meet. Every Christian life is a pilgrimage – a journey with God. As I begin this new chapter in my own life and ministry, I am grateful to be walking with God and with others.”
Pilgrim Officer at Canterbury Cathedral Torin Brown said: “Pilgrimage is a wonderful outward encounter with new places and people, but for me the inward journey of spiritual improvement is equally inevitable to such an endeavour, and so it is a great privilege and honour to have the opportunity to accompany Archbishop Sarah as she prepares for her new role with humility and grace, by walking a camino to Canterbury.”
Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Richard Braddy, said the walk would help root the coming installation in prayer and encounter, adding that churches, schools and others along the route would be joining in.
He said daily themes and prayers would also be shared on social media so that others could take part prayerfully during the pilgrimage.
“I am looking forward personally to take time to experience God’s presence on this pilgrimage, to deepen my journey as a disciple of Christ, and through the gift of the Holy Spirit see what conversations unfold as we encounter people on the way,” he said.
The pilgrimage comes shortly after Dame Sarah’s formal confirmation at St Paul’s Cathedral, where she raised the Primatial Cross, symbolising the authority of the Primate.
Her appointment follows a lengthy vacancy in the office after Justin Welby stepped down more than a year ago.
Her installation on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, will mark the symbolic beginning of her ministry as diocesan bishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England.
The service, rooted in centuries of tradition, is expected to reflect both the historic role of Canterbury and the contemporary diversity of the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion.
