The Anglican Archbishop of York, the Most Revd Stephen Cottrell (picture above, right) and the RC Bishop of Middlesbrough, the Rt Revd Terry Drainey (above, left), made a pilgrimage together through York, inspired by Pope Francis’ call to “walk together, work together, and pray together”.
Together they walked from the shrine of St Margaret Clitherow, on The Shambles, and met other pilgrims at the south door of York Minster. The pilgrimage then culminated in an ecumenical service at the Minster, which included the renewal of baptismal promises, and drew on both Anglican and Roman Catholic traditions, and was designed to mark Pope Francis’s Jubilee Year 2025, with its theme, ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.
Before the service, Archbishop Cottrell said: “When I met with the late Pope Francis, he encouraged us to walk together, work together, and pray together. This opportunity to gather in York Minster is doing just that. We are all part of the family of God — sisters and brothers on the Way.”
Bishop Drainey said: “In this year when we mark the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, it is especially meaningful to stand alongside one another and profess together: This is our faith; this is the faith of the Church, and we are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.”
We here in Spain are very well situated to follow their example. What could we do with our Roman Catholic brethren to “walk together, work together, and pray together”, as Pope Francis encouraged us?
Read the Church Times article here.