18.08.2018
Dublin’s Pilgrim Walk Launched by the City’s Two Archbishops
Dublin’s two Archbishops, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and Archbishop Michael Jackson officially launched the Pilgrim Walk earlier today (Saturday August 18). The walk is being run as part of the World Meeting of Families, and the Archbishops got it under way by walking with parishioners from St Michan’s Church of Ireland on Church Street to St Michan’s Catholic Church on Halston Street.
Both churches are among seven around Dublin city that pilgrims are invited to visit as part of a Pilgrim Walk “Dublin Camino” during the World Meeting of Families. The Pilgrim walk can be undertaken in a single day or over a few days during this coming week.
Speaking during the launch Archbishop Jackson said that the symbolism of including the Church of Ireland church was gratefully received. He said that pilgrimage and walking was something that could bring participants together to discover God. He added that the Pilgrim Walk was a gift to the city and said that all who took part in it would be part of a piece of living Dublin history.
“I look forward to seeing how this week will unfold. It will be very spiritual and the ripples from it will go from Ireland to the rest of the world. The visit of Pope Francis is highly anticipated but this week is also about families and I hope it will be transformative,” Archbishop Jackson stated.
Archbishop Martin spoke of the enrichment of the Christian faith through reaching out to and respect for others. He encouraged everyone to be an “authentic Church of Jesus Christ” and explore what it means to be an authentic Church. He also hoped that the Church could be a living witness to everyone, particularly young people who struggle to find relevance.
He said that those who had grown up in the Catholic Church new that there were rules and order to everything. He suggested that Pope Francis that changed this and the Pilgrim Walk was symbolic of this change as participants could start in whichever church they wanted and do the Dublin Camino in any order. “The Christian life is like that. It’s about finding the message of Christ where you are,” he stated.
The Dublin Camino involves visiting the seven churches and spending time in prayer in each of them for families before finishing the visit with the World Meeting of Families prayer. Each pilgrim will be issued with a pilgrim walk passport which will be stamped at each church in the ancient tradition of the Camino of St James. A pilgrimage certificate of completion will be stamped when they arrive at the last of the seven churches. Each church will have a roster of ambassadors to meet the pilgrims, stamp their pilgrim passports and offer a WMOF cead míle fáilte. The churches can be visited in any order. The walk continues until next Saturday, August 24 and the churches will be open from 9.30 am to 7.00 pm each day.
The route for the Pilgrim Walk includes the following Dublin churches:
- St Teresa’s Carmelite Church, Clarendon Street – the theme is “the gift of parents to the family.”
- St Francis Xavier’s, Gardiner Street – the theme is the role of teachers in enriching the children of our families.
- St Saviour’s, Dominick Street – the theme is God walks with families
when times are tough
- St Michan’s, Halston Street –the gift of children to the family
- St Michan’s, Church Street –fostering the gift of forgiveness among families
- St Audoen’s Church, High Street –the gift of grandparents to the family
- Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Whitefriars), Aungier Street –love at the heart of the family
You can download the Pilgrim Walk map in PDF form at www.dublindiocese.ie/7-church-pilgrim-walk-for-wmof2018