By Mgr Daniel McHugh

The Immaculate Conception and St Egwin, Evesham

The Church where devotion to Our Lady of Evesham is fostered: it is close to the site of the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey where the first Apparition of Our Lady in England took place 701 AD.

To mark the Jubilee Year of Hope, the Ethnic Chaplaincies joined other Pilgrims in the Church for a first Saturday Mass on 5 July, led by the Hong Kong Community. The Pilgrim Group were joined by the Cameroonian and West Indian Chaplaincies, and other pilgrims, including an Irish contingent and parishioners.

Monsignor Daniel McHugh, Co-ordinator of Ethnic Chaplaincies and Eastern Churches in the Archdiocese, was invited to preside at the Mass while Fr Christopher Draycott, Parish Priest, preached. The visiting Chaplaincy Pilgrims chose and led the hymn singing.

After Mass local parishioners, and the SVP in particular invited everyone to celebratory refreshments in the Parish Hall. There Bethany Mulvey, an Historian and Scripture Scholar, spoke about the “Historical Background” to the Abbey of Evesham, a place of prayer and history in line with the request of Our Lady to Eof, the Swineherd, who first saw Our Lady, and St Egwin who promoted the development of the monastery and Abbey in the 8th Century to further the wishes of Our Lady.

After Bethany’s talk which drew on “The Church and the Vale of Evesham” by David Cox, Pilgrims made their way to the original Abbey. On the way they stopped at the bronze sculpture of the Apparition in the Market Square. The Cameroonian Ladies brought the Pilgrim Walk to life with their joyful singing and colourful dress.

In the Church of St Lawrence, built by the monks in the 12th Century, the Pilgrims had a “Prayer Stop” before the stained-glass image of the Apparition, reflecting on those who had passed on the Faith to them.

There they recited the Jubilee Year Prayer and the Prayer of Our Lady of Evesham. From there they made their way through the original Bell Tower of the Abbey Church, the only part still standing, to the recently excavated cloister, now a garden, where some of the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary were prayed, and Pilgrims reflected on those who had gone before us like monks and pilgrims and kept the story of Mary’s Apparition alive. 

They committed themselves to passing on that Devotion to Mary to future generations. Specially printed prayer cards of Our Lady of Evesham were distributed as a souvenir of the Pilgrimage.

Then the Pilgrims were free to go on through the Abbey Grounds to relax and enjoy the river before setting out for home. One person remarked: “It was a spiritually filled day indeed.”

Photo Gallery

Video - Highlights of the Jubilee Year Family Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Evesham