Pilgrimages

Why Pilgrimage to Peace?

2020 was due to be the national Year of Pilgrimage. Some of our great cathedrals are keeping significant commemorations, not least Canterbury with the 850th anniversary of Archbishop Thomas Becket’s murder in the cathedral by order of King Henry II. We at Ripon, fortunate enough to have the Anglo-Saxon crypt, the oldest built fabric of all England’s cathedrals, are keen to play our part. We will be rescheduling many of our events to 2021. Keep an eye on the Cathedral website for more.

Here we keep 2020 as the year of Pilgrimage to Peace. Supporting the national theme,  we include the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the ending of the Second World War and acknowledge the need in our country and world for reconciliation and peace where, all too often, the lives of God’s children and creation are spoilt by tensions, divisions and conflict.

In mediaeval times, Ripon, like many other cathedrals, was a centre of pilgrimage. There was a natural human desire to go in search of those things that could enable people to reach a deeper, truer reality.  The motivation for much pilgrimage, and many other human pursuits, is no different today.

Whatever your reason for visiting Ripon Cathedral, I invite you to enjoy this wonderful building and all its community offers.