Clifton Diocesan Annual Glastonbury Pilgramage

English Martyrs Chard Creating a Banner for the annual pilgramage at Glastonbury

By Cheryl Swift

Each Year we take part in the Diocesan Pilgrame at Glastonbury. I noted that some our the churches in our Diocese carried banners during the proceession, so I spoke with Cannon John about the idea of producing a Banner to represent our Parrish at this event. Below is the first stage of the banner,  The picture icon is painted onto fabric with acylic paint fixed with a matt varnish spray. The icon will be attached to blue fabric, as shown on paper for design purposes. 

I am currently working on a painting of the martyrs for the back, this will be accompaned with the name of the parish. 

Curently waiting on my chosen Fabrics to be available.

Annual Diocesan Pilgrimage to Glastonbury: ‘Mary – Mother of the Faithful’

Jul 17, 2026 | News

Sunday 6 September 2026

We look forward to welcoming pilgrims once again to Glastonbury for our annual Diocesan Pilgrimage, celebrated this year under the theme “Mary – Mother of the Faithful.” The day begins in the Shrine Church, where we will pray the Rosary before the Statue of Our Lady of Glastonbury. The Statue will then be carried in procession into the Abbey Grounds. Confessions will be available in the Shrine during Exposition, and the Chapel of Healing Prayer will be open in the Abbey Grounds throughout the morning.

Pilgrims can visit the Shrine Repository tent for devotional items and enjoy refreshments from the Abbey Café and St Mary’s cake stall. You are warmly welcome to bring a picnic. A youth procession to the Tor is planned for the morning.

In the early afternoon, we will gather for the Rosary Procession, making our way through the Abbey Grounds and down the High Street, returning for the Pilgrim Mass, celebrated by Bishop Bosco.

May this day be one of grace, fellowship, and deep peace for all who come.

2026 Programme

SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF GLASTONBURY

11.00am Rosary

11.30am Exposition; Adoration; Sacrament of Reconciliation

2.30pm Benediction

ABBEY GROUNDS

11.00am - 12.30pm YOUTH PROCESSION from the Abbey to the Tor

11.30am – 2.30pm PRAYER MINISTRY at the Chapel of Healing

1.45pm ROSARY PROCESSION from the Abbey through the town centre

3.15pm MASS in the Abbey celebrated by Bishop Bosco MacDonald

History of The Church of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury

The Church of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury is a Roman Catholic parish church and diocesan shrine to the Virgin Mary on Magdalene Street in Glastonbury, opposite the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey. Built in 1940 on land once part of the abbot’s park, it serves the Catholic community in Glastonbury, Street, and nearby villages through regular Masses, confessions, sacramental preparation, and groups including the Legion of Mary and a healing ministry. The church continues an ancient Marian devotion linked to Glastonbury’s early Christian past. A wooden church known as Ecclesia Vetusta Beatissimæ Virginis—the Old Church of the Most Blessed Virgin—was recorded by 658 AD and described in King Ina’s charter of about 694 AD as Britain’s foremost place of religion.

Medieval tradition says Joseph of Arimathea founded a Christian community in Glastonbury around 63 AD, bringing relics like the Holy Grail. His staff is believed to have become the Glastonbury Thorn, which still blooms near the abbey. These legends present Glastonbury as an early Christian center, with the “Old Church” considered Britain’s oldest, and its dedication to the Virgin Mary reflecting ancient Marian devotion.

The altars of the Church of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury contain relics including those of St. Thomas of Canterbury, St. Innocentius, and St. Benedict in the High Altar; Sts. Victoria and Barbara in the Lady Altar; and Sts. Innocentius and Clement in the Sacred Heart Altar. In addition, a special relic of St. Oliver Plunkett, the Irish martyr and patron of peace and reconciliation, was deposited in each of its reliquaries during the church's consecration in 1941; this makes the church unique in housing relics of this martyr across all its altar reliquaries.

In July 1955, the shrine of Our Lady of Glastonbury was restored with a new statue carved by Philip Lindsay Clark and blessed by Apostolic Delegate Gerald O’Hara.

The Shrine of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury functions as a focal point for Catholic liturgical practices. Annual diocesan pilgrimages, held each September draw participants for structured worship including Rosary recitations, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with adoration and confession, processions to Glastonbury Tor, and concluding Mass celebrated by the Bishop of Clifton.