Pilgrim Cross (formerly known as Student Cross) is the annual,

Ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

, cross-carrying, walking pilgrimage to

Walsingham 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 Christian monasticism, monastic houses.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Expl ...

that takes place over

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

and

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

. It is the longest continuous walking pilgrimage in Britain and is walked by pilgrims of all ages. The

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

was founded in 1948 by a

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

student, Wilfred Mauncote-Carter, who led a group including many ex-servicemen, on a walk from London to

, taking it in turns to carry the Cross. The

has grown over the years and currently consists of 10 different 'legs' that start from different areas of the country and at different stages of the week leading up to the celebration of the

Easter Triduum The Paschal Triduum or Easter Triduum (Latin: ''Triduum Paschale''), Holy Triduum (Latin: ''Triduum Sacrum''), or the Three Days, is the Christian period of three days that begins with the liturgy on the evening of Maundy Thursday, reaches its ...

. The original pilgrimage was only open to male Catholics but it quickly expanded to welcome graduates the next year. Women were officially allowed to walk from 1967 and it became all age in 1981 with the addition of a new leg for families. The pilgrimage has been officially

since 1972 although it still retains a Catholic flavour. During the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the pilgrimage was carried out virtually with online liturgy daily during Holy Week. __TOC__

Current Pilgrim Cross legs

Five of the legs walk for seven days over a distance of approximately 120 miles. One leg walks for three days over a distance of around sixty miles. Two are for families and are based in Letton Hall, near Shipdham and

Wells-next-the-Sea Wells-next-the-Sea is a port town on the north coast of Norfolk, England. The civil parish has an area of and in 2001 had a population of 2,451,Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household c ...

. Easter Cross walks for

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

only and is generally for older student-crossers who have previously walked full legs. In 2012, another leg - Wensum Leg - was set up for secondary school-aged children and their parents, to cover the gap between family legs and the 'main' legs. These legs meet on the afternoon of

and celebrate the Easter liturgy together in

over the

weekend. In 2021, X-Leg was created to reflect the changing online presence of the pilgrimage. This online 'leg' of the pilgrimage was held in 2022. * London (starts walking from Epping Forest) * Northern (starts walking from the village of Keyworth near Nottingham) * Midland (starts walking from the village of Keyham near Leicester) * Kettering (starts walking from Kettering) * Essex (starts walking from Colchester) * Oxford (starts walking from Oxford) * Ely (starts walking from Ely) * Peg (based at Letton Hall, Shipdham, Norfolk) * Wells (based at Wells-next-the-Sea Youth Hostel) * Easter (starts walking from North Elmham on Good Friday) * Wensum (starts walking from Wymondham on Palm Sunday) * X-Leg (Online Leg with option to join the pilgrimage live in Walsingham)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Student and Pilgrim Cross

Northern Cross
(a similar Easter pilgrimage, which walks to Holy Island (Lindisfarne) off the coast of Northumberland; this was set up by veteran Student Cross walkers in 1976, who were seeking a different destination.)
Scottish Cross
(Another natural development from Student and Northern Cross with cross carrying pilgrims walking to Iona on two routes - Fort William and Loch Lomond Legs - during Holy Week.) Christian pilgrimages