Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Young pilgrims gather for cross-border Cathedral trek
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, joined 700 young people from across Kent on a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral on Easter Monday.
Now in its 41st year, the Easter Youth Pilgrimage is organised by a committee of young people from parishes in the Canterbury Diocese.
And this year they were joined by pilgrims from the Netherlands, France and even the USA,
The event was supported by other church leaders, including the Bishop of Dover and Cathedral canons, who each joined walks from numerous parishes to the city centre.
Some young Christians left their home parishes on Easter Sunday, staying overnight in church halls before continuing to Canterbury.
Many others met up at one of the three mini-pilgrimage starting points and walked together to the Cathedral from Chartham village hall, Patrixbourne church, Sturry church and Vernon House at Harbledown.
They all arrived in the Cathedral Precincts at noon for a lively, youth-led service in the nave, which this year had the theme More Than Words.
Diocesan children’s and youth ministry adviser Murray Wilkinson said: “The Easter Youth Pilgrimage gives young pilgrims an opportunity to explore what it might mean for them to live out the words they encounter in the Bible.
“With pilgrims joining us from the Netherlands, France and the USA, this year was a truly international event, and everyone who attended was challenged to be More than Words.”