Pilgrims celebrate diamond jubilee of Britain's oldest annual pilgrimage

Pilgrims of all ages will gather in Sheffield next week to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Student Cross Holy Week pilgrimage to Walsingham.

Throughout the festivities they will remember the group of young men who in 1948 first took up a cross and walked from London to Walsingham for an Easter pilgrimage.

The "Jubilee day" will include keynote speeches by high profile Student Cross supporters including Chris Bain, Director of CAFOD, and Timothy Radcliffe, former Master of the Dominican Order and Patron of the Student Cross Association.

A day of music and liturgy will include an ecumenical service of celebration and the event will be rounded off in style with a black-tie ball with after-dinner speaker, the Rt Rev Malcolm McMahon, Bishop of Nottingham.

This year's pilgrimage saw over 250 people of all ages set out on their journeys from various parts of England in ten groups, known as "legs". The pilgrims walked around 120 miles carrying a wooden cross as a visible witness to their faith and gathered together in Walsingham on Good Friday for an Easter celebration.

David Ring, the national director of the 2008 pilgrimage, said: "For Student Cross to have been around for sixty years is a fantastic achievement. It also shows that Christianity is still flourishing in today's society."

The Student Cross group said the pilgrimage has a "profound" effect on the lives of those who take up the challenge.

"Student Cross is about more than just those that walk," said Ring. "The legs receive incredible support on the way from parishioners and residents who often feed and house pilgrims for the night.

"The pilgrimage is an important part of the Easter preparation for many parishes we walk through - everyone who helps us to get to Walsingham, as well as those who welcome us when we get there are part of the pilgrimage."

It is hoped that the Diamond Jubilee celebrations will encourage even more people to experience Student Cross for themselves.

National director for 2009, Felicity Cairns is keen to promote the pilgrimage.

"If anyone is looking for a unique way to celebrate Easter and experience fully the community of pilgrimage then Student Cross is for them," she said.