A Covenant celebrating the working together of the Anglican and Catholic Shrines at Our Lady of Walsingham in Norfolk was signed at a joint service in Walsingham yesterday evening (Monday).

Monsignor John Armitage, Rector of the Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham was due to join his Church of England colleague Fr Kevin Smith, Priest Administrator of the Anglican Shrine, at a celebration of Vespers in the Shrine Church to sign the document. The day is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Walsingham.

Visitors Guide - Walsingham village and abbey.. (4349736)

Messages of support from the Anglican Bishop of Norwich and Catholic Bishop of East Anglia were read out to worshippers.

Walsingham, known as England’s Nazareth, attracts thousands of pilgrims every year from all over the world. The ecumenical working together is seen by many as part of the crucial witness of one of Britain’s best known holy places of pilgrimage.

The Ecumenical Covenant reflects “the experience of the Anglican and Roman Catholic places of pilgrimage in Walsingham”.

Heralding the example and centrality of Mary the document declares that together they “share in that joy which is the foundation of our faith by our common witness and worship in Walsingham”.