Pilgrimage Finds New Footing in Wisconsin
By Jonathan Weyer, Oblate of the Guardians of Walsinham and Fr. William Bulson, Grace Sheboygan
Pilgrimage is coming back in a big way.
The Camino De Santiago in Spain saw half a million pilgrims walk all or parts of the holy trail in 2024. In the UK, a Pilgrimage Trust has been established to redevelop old pilgrims trails that were destroyed by Henry VIII. Indeed, pilgrimage is a growing trend among Gen Z and Millennials who are recreating their own “Canterbury Tales” with journeys they are calling “Shrinecations.”
In the Diocese of Wisconsin, we’re seeing this surge of interest at the annual October pilgrimage to the American Proto-Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham at Grace Church in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Our Lady of Walsingham Proto-Shrine at Grace, Sheboygan
This should come as no surprise, as Grace has long been known for the pilgrimage. In 1930, Father Parker Curtiss, after a visit to the newly restored Our Lady of Walsingham Shrine in England and with the blessing of Father Hope Patton, started the shrine at Grace. Pilgrimages began in 1951 and interest has waxed and waned. In the past three years, Grace noticed an uptick in Roman, Byzantine, and Anglo-Catholic groups coming from all over the country to visit the shrine.
As a way to answer this growing interest in the shrine and pilgrimage, Father William Bulson, rector at Grace, brought together a group of people known as the Guardians of the Shrine to connect with the growing interest in pilgrimage. The Guardians are called to protect and increase devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham at the Proto-Shrine. The Guardians fulfill this call especially through daily prayer, developing the ministry of pilgrimage, healing, hospitality, and education. The Guardians hope to increase reach and involvement at the Shrine throughout the year.
The Guardians are made up of the Chapter, Oblates, and Associates.
The Chapter is the leadership group, putting together the annual pilgrimage and providing vision for the future.
The Oblates share a common Rule of prayer and devotion at the Shrine itself throughout the year and so live relatively close geographically.
Associates are those who further the Shrine’s life of intercession with Our Lady and the Rosary; Associates may live anywhere.
In doing so, they add their work to the faithful prayers of Grace parishioners and others, including, for example, the Grace Rosary group led by Dcn. Paul Aparicio. These faithful people have been the foundation of life and devotion at the Shrine for decades. The fruit of prayer, the guidance of the Mother of God, and the resurgent fullness of the Spirit have their root above all in this Shrine that has been prayed in so beautifully.
This year’s pilgrimage brimmed with significant events in the life of the shrine. Nashotah House sent a contingent of seminarians, and the choral scholars led Friday night’s Evensong. Anglo-Catholic Societies, a wide age range of participants, and parishioners added their presence to the mix. And, perhaps more importantly, the pilgrims reflected a wide range of age groups.
Friday and Thursday saw some special events as well. On Friday night, the Guardians inducted their Bishop Visitor, the Rt. Reverend Brian Burgess, two oblates, and a new member to the Guardians on Friday night.
On Thursday, the Guardians added an extra day called “Pilgrimage Wisconsin.” Abbot Moses from Holy Resurrection Monastery (Byzantine Catholic) in St. Nazianz gave the key address about this calling as a pilgrim. In the afternoon, it was announced that The Wisconsin Way, a Roman Catholic pilgrimage trail stretching from Our Lady Champion Shrine to Holy Hill, would now become a joint Roman/Anglo-Catholic pilgrimage project with more details to be announced later.
So, if you can’t take a pilgrimage to the Holy Land or hike one of the pilgrim trails of Europe, you can do your own pilgrimage right here in the state of Wisconsin. The Guardians of the Shrine stand ready to help you as you draw closer to Christ through the prayers of Our Lady of Walsingham.