Plymouth Diocese Launches New Pilgrims Passport for Jubilee Year

St Mary & St Boniface, Cathedral Church of Plymouth | CBCEW

In this Jubilee Year – a special year of forgiveness and reconciliation, in which people are invited to come back into right relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation, Plymouth Diocese has launched a new Pilgrims of Hope passport inviting pilgrims to visit four historically and spiritually significant churches in Cornwall, Devon, and Dorset:

St Mary & St Boniface, Cathedral Church of Plymouth
St Cuthbert Mayne, Launceston
Holy Trinity, Dorchester
The National Shrine of St Boniface in Crediton

The Cathedral Church of St Mary & St Boniface is a place central to the heart of the Diocese of Plymouth; St Cuthbert Mayne holds the relics of this local saint; Holy Trinity church, Dorchester has a strong connection to the Chideock Martyrs, and St Boniface Church, Crediton contains two relics of the saint, revered by the people of Germany and of Holland.

Canon Paul Cummins, the Diocesan Administrator says: “Whilst Rome is rightly the focus of Jubilee Years, the Pope has also asked every Diocese to designate certain places to be local centres of pilgrimage. During this year, we are encouraged to visit these places of pilgrimage and to spend some time in prayerful reflection there. In our Diocese, these places are the Cathedral in Plymouth, St Cuthbert Mayne Church in Launceston, the National Shrine of St Boniface in Crediton, and Holy Trinity Church in Dorchester. Pilgrim Passports will shortly be distributed to all parishes, which will give details of the pilgrim sites, and offer encouragement to you to visit them during the year if you are able. Also, each of the pilgrimage sites will have celebrations on specific significant days during the Jubilee Year which will be advertised nearer the time.

“We invite Catholics and non Catholics alike to make a pilgrimage to these four churches. The Jubilee Year is a time to reestablish our relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation. The Jubilee Year, will be a year of hope for our world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our climate in crisis.

“May this Jubilee Year be for you a time of reflection, of new insight, and of a deepening of your relationship with the Lord. May our love be a witness to those who may feel lost or hopeless, and may it encourage them on their pilgrimage to find the way, the truth and the life.”

Pilgrims will be able to pick up the passport and the stamps at each of the four churches. All are encouraged to visit these sacred sites, whether as part of an organised pilgrimage, or to create their own pilgrimage routes and walks. Buckfast Abbey on the edge of Dartmoor National Park is also recommended as a place of pilgrimage.

The Diocese will also be creating ways for those who due to illness and disability are unable to walk or travel, to visit these sacred spaces virtually. More guidance will follow.