The 2025 National Jubilee Walking Pilgrimage of Hope announced
The Pilgrimage of Hope is a national walking pilgrimage for England & Wales with four main Ways converging at the Cathedral of St Barnabas, Nottingham, on Saturday 13th September 2025, the eve of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. It is an initiative of the Hearts in Search of God project.
The Ways start at the Catholic cathedrals in Cardiff, Leeds, Norwich and London and will bless our nations with a Sign of the Cross. The routes use established hiking routes and are off road as much as possible. A small group of ‘perpetual pilgrims’ will walk the full distance of each Way, with day pilgrims joining for stages. There are potential feeder routes to the four main Ways from all the other Catholic cathedrals of England & Wales.
The 2025 Jubilee has the motto ‘pilgrims of hope’ and the logo shows people coming from the four corners of the earth in solidarity.
Pope Francis has written: “Pilgrimage is of course a fundamental element of every Jubilee event. Setting out on a journey is traditionally associated with our human quest for meaning in life. A pilgrimage on foot is a great aid for rediscovering the value of silence, effort and simplicity of life. In the coming year, pilgrims of hope will surely travel the ancient and more modern routes in order to experience the Jubilee to the full.”
The Hearts in Search of God project lead, Phil McCarthy said: “We live in times when despair would be easy. The Pilgrimage of Hope will be a way for Catholics and other Christians to witness to their faith and hope in the crucified and risen Christ across England & Wales. It will be an opportunity to experience walking a sustainable pilgrimage on foot as pilgrims of hope.”
For more information visit: https://www.pilgrimways.org.uk/national-pilgrims-of-hope-walking-pilgrimage
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The 2025 Jubilee
In the Catholic Church, Jubilees or Holy Years are special years of grace, forgiveness and reconciliation. The first was declared by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300. The 2025 Jubilee has especial significance in England & Wales as it commemorates 175 years since the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy after the penal centuries that followed the Reformation.
The Hearts in Search of God project
The aim of this three-year project is to promote walking pilgrimage in England & Wales by developing Pilgrim Ways between the cathedral of each Catholic diocese and one or more shrines within the same diocese. The Ways are an opportunity for Catholics and other Christians to deepen their faith, and for people of all faiths and none to share in the experience of walking a pilgrimage in a Catholic context. The hope is that walking pilgrimage will contribute to the common good of our nations through encouraging encounter with others, hospitality, and respect for the environment. The project is supported by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.
The Project Lead is Phil McCarthy, a retired GP and former CEO of Caritas Social Action Network. In 2008 he walked from Canterbury to Rome and in 2015 on from Rome to Istanbul. He has written books about both pilgrimages.