I have written before about pilgrimage to Walsingham and the centrality of vision to the whole experience of being at the shrine and praying there in the company of others. By ‘vision’ I mean the substance of something that originates with God and comes to his people as revelation. I have said before in sermons that I use the word vision in this way rather than in the secular sense of an idea or intention. The secular sense tends to be that used by the managers of the church when setting their aims, objectives, goals or ecclesiastical shopping lists, but it is a worldly use rather than a spiritual one.

When Fr. Hope Patten became vicar of Little Walsingham in 1921 he had a vision for the restoration of the shrine of Our Lady which had been destroyed at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries. No doubt he had many thoughts and ideas around the subject, but his vision remained central giving him his creative drive and determination to succeed. It is in the nature of visions received from God for them to be entwined in the fabric of our human existence; it could not be otherwise.

Fr. Patten had a new image carved which was set up in the parish church in 1922, but inevitable pressure from the ecclesiastical authorities meant that it could not stay and so preparations were made for the building of a new shrine on land adjacent to the pilgrim hostel in the village, the Hospice of Our Lady, Star of the Sea (Stella Maris), where pilgrims often stay to this day.

The new building was erected in 1931 and the image translated from the parish church on October 15th, but before that circumstances confirmed to Fr. Patten the authenticity of his vision. A large area of land in the centre of the village became vacant and whilst the site was being prepared for the foundations a cobbled courtyard, a churchyard cross and a disused well of Saxon origin were uncovered. To my knowledge, there is no archaeological certainty that this is the site of the original holy house, although it might well be, but that is of little consequence except to the archaeologist. To those present it was a clear case of circumstances coinciding with a vision and Hope Patten know that this was where he had to build, not to recreate the past, but to build a living devotion rooted in the past and pointing the pilgrim to eternity.

If this aspect of Fr. Patten’s vision worked out even better than he had planned another aspect did not. He always maintained a vision of a community of priests living the religious life in a college at the shrine, hence the presence of the College on the site today. Patten was not the right man to hold together a group of priests living a rule of life and resident at the shrine. There were always tensions and few priests or religious stayed long. Despite this failure, by God’s grace, the College has become a residence for parish priests who come with their people. In this way priests share in the continuing work of the shrine church and pilgrims needs are met. To all Priests Associate, myself included, this will always be a privilege and joy. Visions work out in God’s way, not ours. That way we can appreciate and enjoy the fruits.

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