Pilgrimage of Hope

The Pilgrimage of Hope was a national walking pilgrimage with four main Ways which converged at the Cathedral of St Barnabas, Nottingham, on Saturday 13th September 2025, for shared prayer and celebration. The Pilgrimage culminated with Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at St Barnabas' Cathedral.

There were four main Ways, named after the Evangelists, Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which started in Cardiff, Leeds, Norwich and London and  blessed our nations with a Sign of the Cross.

Our own David Blake walked St Matthew’s Way which started at the Cathedral of St David in Cardiff to Nottingham Cathedral via St Chad's Cathedral in Birmingham, a distance of 210 miles. By the end of the pilgrimage, Dave had raised £330 for the Parish Centre which he hopes that his company, Landmarc Support Services, would double that.

Please find below a great podcast all about the pilgrimage by Theresa Alessandro, it’s about 38 minutes long but if people want to hear about the bit Dave walked then it starts at 17 minutes and 40 seconds