Diocesan News
Cleric finishes 100–mile pilgrimage to St Patrick’s Cathedral on Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday will be marked for the Revd Stephen McWhirter, Rector of Rossorry Parish Church, as the final day of his ‘Soles for Souls’ pilgrimage from Enniskillen to St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.
Revd Stephen set out from Rossorry Church after morning service on 30 March for the first leg of his two–week walk barefoot.
He has walked distances varying from 3.5 miles to 11 miles daily, sleeping overnight in churches while hosted by fellow clerics.
His walk aims to raise funds for Rossorry’s new community hub building and also for the Aisling Centre which provides counselling.
Along the route of his ‘Soles for Souls’ walk, Revd Stephen has been calling at a number of Church of Ireland schools, speaking to pupils about the history and role of pilgrimages.
The route is filled with places of historic interest. The original church of Rossorry is named after St Fanchea who helped to build a monastery on the banks of Lough Erne. He will also be crossing through places such as Trim, where a monastery was traditionally thought to be founded by St. Patrick.
Maynooth, also on Revd Stephen’s walking route is a well–known university town served by two churches named St Mary’s; St Mary’s Church of Ireland which is incorporated into the walls of St Patrick’s College, Ireland’s national seminary for the training of priests and St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church.
At St Michan’s Church, Dublin dating from 1686, it was the site of the first Christian chapel dating from 1095 and operated as a Catholic Church until the Reformation. It has served the Church of Ireland parishioners in Dublin for more than 300 years.
Revd Stephen’s final walk day will begin at St James’s Gate, the traditional beginning of the medieval pilgrimage route, with his destination of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin which for over 800 years has been a site of religious significance.
Donations can be made through GoFundMe Soles for Souls page.
For further information please contact:
Diocesan Communications Officer, Clogher
07708 869823
Mr Brian Donaldson
[email protected]