It’s a joy to share that 25 pilgrims from the Parish of St Faith at St Cross travelled to Conques in France in early October for a time of prayer and reflection and to celebrate with the local community. They were accompanied by Bishop David for the four day visit.
They journeyed to the Abbey de Sainte Foy to pray at the tomb of their Patron Saint Faith (Sainte Foy) and to mark her feast day with the Brothers of the Abbey and other pilgrims who had travelled from across the world. Conques, like St Cross, is on the route of the Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain.
Fr Dominik Chmielewski, Rector of the Parish of St Faith and the Master of the Hospital of St Cross said, “St Faith is the parish patron saint and the 6th of October is the patronal festival and this year we decided to go to Conques, where the relics of St Faith have been kept since the 8th century, to spend a few days with the community of brothers there. The main reason for us to go was to build a close and knitted community of prayer in this parish. We walked together, we slept together, we ate together, we did everything together and everything we did, we did in prayer, which was absolutely wonderful. When we left, we were a group of people who only see each other at church on Sundays, we came back as a real family, which is absolutely amazing.”
The Feast Day of Saint Foy is a significant annual pilgrimage and at the heart of the village is the Abbey de Sainte-Foy which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The pilgrims from St Faiths were welcomed by the brothers and given a private chapel to have Eucharist each morning as well as being given a tour of the medieval building and its treasury.
They also took part in the celebrations of the Feast of St Faith including walking in a candlelit procession through the village with priests of the Abbey and visiting Bishops. This was followed by a celebratory meal and a time of fellowship. The group also shared compline with the brothers and Bishop David was invited to proclaim the gospel at the main service in the village.
He said, “I always think when you spend three or four days with people from one church, they get to know each other better in that time than in a year of coming to church on a Sunday. So that on its own is a great gift and we went with a common purpose. I didn’t know anything about St Faith really, but we went to the place in France where her memory is held as very precious, and we just joined in. We slept in a pilgrim’s hostel, we ate very simple food, we prayed a lot, and I think people have become much closer friends over four days. It’s been remarkable to watch. When I became bishop ten years ago, I rather hoped I’d be doing this five or six times a year, but it’s been five or six times over ten years. So I hope that this pilgrimage might encourage people to do church weekends and pilgrimages across the diocese.”
Prayers were said during the weekend for the parish, the Hospital of St Cross, and for the whole diocese and our Bishops as well as the local community. Deep friendships were formed within the communities and plans are being put in place for a trip from Conques to St Cross next year.
Fr Dominik added, “One of the brothers who took us to the treasury and showed us the relics for the first time said that there are many misconceptions about relics. People think that they are superstitious, that they are something that comes out of paganism rather than Christian. But relics point us to Christ through the life of that saint. We really saw the image of Christ this weekend and we felt his presence with us.”
The pilgrimage was organised by Assistant curate, Fr James Mosher. He said, “It’s been a gift to be able to pray with one another, to pray with Christians from all over that part of France, to be there on the Sunday of their High Feast, and to keep the feast with them. Part of the gift has been sharing meals, praying together, sitting in cafes, and just having time together. It was great to get to know the brothers and to walk in that community. The thing that united us is Christ. We see the light of Christ shining through his saints, and this weekend we celebrated Saint Foy, and we asked for Saint Foy to continue to pray for us, to pray for the people of Conques, the people of France and the people of Winchester. I think pilgrimage is a gift, and it’s something which Christians for centuries have done, and I would encourage everyone in the diocese, if the opportunity comes up, to go on pilgrimage, whether that’s to France or here in the diocese. We don’t walk alone in our lives, we walk with Christ, and we walk with one another. We all went on pilgrimage as one, and we all brought different things with us to put before Christ, and it’s been a great pleasure, a great privilege.”
The pilgrims returned to St Faiths at St Cross for a short time of prayer and blessing. It’s hoped another trip can be arranged to Conques in the future.
