The National Pilgrimage

The National Pilgrimage (also known as The National) is an annual pilgrimage to the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in the village of Little Walsingham in the English county of Norfolk. The first pilgrimage took place in 1923 in the parish church of St Mary and All Saints, Little Walsingham. The shrine, which had been destroyed in the Dissolution, had been revived in the church the previous year by the Vicar, Fr Hope Patten. The annual pilgrimage was established in 1938, when the statue of Our Lady was moved to a new shrine church. Originally known as the Whit Monday Pilgrimage, it has been known as The National Pilgrimage since 1959.