In the year 1061, Our Lady appeared to Richeldis de Faverches of Norfolk. Richeldis was taken in spirit to the Holy House of Nazareth, and instructed to build a replica of the House in Walsingham. The simple wooden structure developed into one of the most important mediaeval shrines in Britain, sadly being destroyed at the time of the Reformation.

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Shrine was restored and has again become an important Marian pilgrimage site for Catholics, Orthodox and Anglicans. The spirituality of the Shrine is incarnational, as one would expect from ‘England’s Nazareth’.

May Our Lady be very close to us this day, guiding us and praying for us at each step; and may her beloved Son bless us all.