Abstract
The growth in Catholic pilgrimage in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century is widely acknowledged, but little attention has been paid to how and why many of the mass pilgrimages of the era began. This article will assess the contribution made by the Guild of Our Lady of Ransom to the growth of Catholic pilgrimage. After the Guild’s foundation in 1887, its leadership revived or restored pilgrimages to pre- and post-Reformation sites, and coordinated the movement of thousands of pilgrims across the country. This article offers an examination of how and why Guild leaders chose particular locations in the context of Marian Revivalism, papal interest in the English martyrs, defence of the Catholic faith, and late-nineteenth century medievalism. It argues that the Guild was pivotal in establishing some of England’s most famous post-Reformation pilgrimages. In doing so, it situates the work of the Guild in late nineteenth and early twentieth century religiosity, and demonstrates the pivotal nature of its work in establishing, developing, organising, and promoting some of the most important post-Reformation Catholic pilgrimages in Britain.
Highlights
In the decades after the emancipation of Catholics in England and Wales (1829)[1], and the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy (1850), pilgrimage activity increased within Britain, as well as to sites overseas
This article offers an examination of how and why Guild leaders chose particular locations in the context of Marian Revivalism, papal interest in the English martyrs, defence of the Catholic faith, and late-nineteenth century medievalism. It argues that the Guild was pivotal in establishing some of England’s most famous postReformation pilgrimages. It situates the work of the Guild in late nineteenth and early twentieth century religiosity, and demonstrates the pivotal nature of its work in establishing, developing, organising, and promoting some of the most important post-Reformation Catholic pilgrimages in Britain
An investigation into how and why specific pilgrimage locations were chosen by the Guild will shed light on the development of its spiritual practices in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and on the significance of its contribution to the revival and renewal of British Catholic pilgrimage
Summary
The procession met the statue at the station, and returned via the Mount Chapel, to see the statue installed in its new shrine.[75] The Guild’s ‘ownership’ of the procession was proclaimed through the Guild’s banner, carried at the front, along with the banners of White, Red, and Blue Cross Ransomers.[76] The Daily Mail reported that the pilgrimage ceremonial ‘was carried out by the guild of Our Lady of Ransom’, and made no mention of Wrigglesworth, he was present.[77] The local press, which often gave detailed coverage of the pilgrimages, made no mention of Wrigglesworth Perhaps this was a reflection of the reluctance on the part of the secular press to emphasise the role of Catholic priests.[78] The day the pilgrims went to the Slipper Chapel at Walsingham, newly restored by the wealthy benefactress and recent convert, Miss Charlotte Boyd (1837-1906).
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