New Archbishop of Canterbury undertakes ‘deeply humbling’ pilgrimage forward of enthronement | EUROtoday

The Church of England’s first feminine chief, Sarah Mullally, is endeavor a poignant pilgrimage on foot from London to Canterbury, reflecting on a “deeply humbling” expertise forward of her enthronement subsequent week.

Ms Mullally, 63, who was named the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury final October, has chosen to stroll the roughly 140 km (87 mile) “Becket Camino” route, tracing the historic path from St Paul’s Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral.

On Friday, the fourth day of her six-day journey alongside riverside trails and conventional pilgrimage routes, she arrived at Aylesford Priory.

The Thirteenth-century web site, famend for welcoming pilgrims, noticed her clad in a pink jacket and trekking footwear.

Speaking earlier than embarking on the journey, she said: “As I prepare for my installation at Canterbury Cathedral, it feels deeply humbling to be following in the footsteps of those who have walked this ancient route.”

Carrying a employees inscribed with ‘Archbishop’s Camino’ – ‘camino’ that means path in Spanish – she traversed the slender paths via Kent’s rolling inexperienced fields. A scallop shell, famously related to Spain’s Camino de Santiago, dangled from her rucksack, symbolising her non secular journey.

She was confirmed as archbishop in January in a standard ceremony marking her authorized assumption of workplace, turning into the primary lady to carry essentially the most senior clerical place within the Church of England and the symbolic head of the 85-million-strong international Anglican Communion.

Accompanied by her husband, Eamonn, and a small group of pilgrims on her journey to Canterbury, Mullally has been stopping at church buildings, cathedrals and abbeys to hitch prayer providers, go to colleges, and meet native congregations.

The last stretch from the village of Chartham to Canterbury is predicted to complete on Sunday in time for Evensong – a standard night prayer service – earlier than her ceremonial set up on the cathedral on 25 March.

The “Becket Camino” holds particular significance for Anglicans and English Catholics, tracing the route believed to have been taken by Thomas Becket, the Twelfth-century Archbishop of Canterbury who was murdered by knights in 1170.

His shrine in Canterbury Cathedral turned the town right into a centre of medieval devotion and pilgrimage in England.

Mullally’s pilgrimage marks the primary time in trendy historical past that an Archbishop of Canterbury has undertaken a journey of this nature within the lead-up to their enthronement.