From Your Parish Priest – 19th September 2026

Thursday is the Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham. Our Lady of Walsingham, as a devotion and a site of pilgrimage and prayer in England, is a great source of pride for English Catholics. At times, because of the Reformation and the tumultuous history of the Church in this country, we can feel as though we lack a clear Catholic identity in England. Our Lady of Walsingham reminds us that there is a rich Catholic heritage that is distinctly English and deeply rooted in this country. For those of us who have made a pilgrimage to Walsingham, there is something astonishing and deeply encouraging about seeing a quintessentially English village, surrounded by traditional countryside, alive with Catholic churches, processions and vibrant expressions of faith. It is a wonderful blending of English life and Catholic tradition which feels entirely natural. However, there is a sense of loss of Catholic identity in this country. Many times I have been asked where our traditions have gone. I have had many conversations with people who lament the decline of outward expressions of our faith, such as May processions or public Corpus Christi processions. There is something to be said for what we lose when these visible signs fade. What we do outwardly is a sign of what we believe inwardly. As I have been reflecting on the upcoming Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham and on my own pilgrimages there, I have been reminded of the importance of reviving our Catholic traditions. Many of these customs are still lived vibrantly in countries such as Spain and Italy. We need to remember that these customs do not belong to any one particular culture or country. They belong to the Church and to all who profess the Catholic faith. I have lost count of how many times, while on Communion calls, I have been asked to stay a little longer and look through old photographs of processions and great celebrations of feast days, showing the outward signs of faith in our own diocese and on our own streets. The very sad thing is that, in the grand scheme of things, we are not talking about very long ago. Only recently I saw the most astonishing footage of the consecration of Liverpool’s Metropolitan Cathedral in 1967. Alongside all the breathtaking ceremony, what struck me even more was the Catholic community itself. People decorated their houses in papal colours, dressed in their Sunday best and lined the streets to welcome the guests. One image stayed with me. So proud were they of their Catholic identity that whole neighborhoods had graffitied ‘Welcome Home Cardinal’ on walls as Cardinal Heenan returned as papal legate. There were street parties with food and games. I have never seen anything like it. Having spent time reflecting on Our Lady of Walsingham and having watched those astonishing images from Liverpool, I have been reminded of how important it is to be proud of our Catholic identity. A confident identity deepens our faith. When we profess our faith publicly and when we are recognisable as Catholics, we hold fast to our belonging to the Church and, above all, to Christ Himself. I have not been in the parish long, but I do hope we can nurture and revive these traditions, building on what is already alive here. It must be said, however, that I would draw the line at graffitiing ‘Welcome Bishop Stock’ on our neighborhood walls when the Bishop comes to visit the parish. While there are so many beautiful traditions and celebrations of the Church that we can revive in the parish and in our homes, the most important thing to remember is that the revival of Catholic culture begins with participation, we must all play our part. As we look ahead as a parish, deepen our celebrations and customs as a Catholic community and take the time we need to plan and grow, I would suggest that a good first step would be for those who are able to join our wider diocesan family at the Batley Torchlight Procession. As noted elsewhere in the bulletin, please see the details provided. I would be so pleased if our parish could have a strong presence there, standing with the diocese and giving public witness to our faith, to the Church and, above all, to Christ Himself.

God bless, Fr Hilton