A sung traditional Latin Mass will be celebrated each day, while pilgrims walk 55 miles to one of the greatest shrines in England. Participants on the walking pilgrimage will be praying for the conversion of England.

Inspired by the pilgrimages of Chartres in France, Christus Rex in Australia and the medieval pilgrims who walked from all over England, the LMS Walsingham Pilgrimage began in 2010 with just a handful of pilgrims and some vehicle support. Read more

Several months ago I wrote about the exciting and encouraging developments that are taking place at our own national shrine at Walsingham.

It seems that Walsingham is not being renewed in isolation. Shrines of Our Lady around the world are experiencing new growth and interest from a fresh generation of pilgrims who are seeking our Lady's intercession. Here are some of the lesser known shrines where the future looks very hopeful.

The Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, south India

Often referred to as the Lourdes of the East, devotion to Our Lady at Velankanni can be traced back to the mid-16th century. The foundation of the shrine is attributed to three miracles and apparitions of Our Lady and the Child Jesus.

The accounts of the apparitions have been handed down by oral tradition and have not received approval of The Holy See.

The original chapel was a simple thatched building which was built by Portuguese sailors as a thanksgiving. The present main church building has a strikingly gothic exterior and is painted brilliant white which ensures that it stands prominently within its surroundings.

The Church was granted the status of a minor basilica by Pope John XIII in 1962.

One unique focus of devotion is Our Lady's pool. Some time during the 16th century, Our Lady with her infant son was reported to have appeared to a Hindu boy carrying milk to a customer's home.

Our Lady asked for milk for her Son. On reaching the customer's home, the boy apologised for his lateness and explained why he had less milk than when he set off. Continue reading

Sources

• Catholic Herald, from an article by Fr Matthew Pittam, a priest of the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
• Image: Window into Heaven

It had taken several days to gear myself up for Confession, but when I arrived at the National Shrine in Walsingham a coachload of nuns had just disembarked and got to the confessionals ahead of me. I was at the back of a very long queue, and the nuns were taking their time.

"What can nuns possibly have to confess?" I thought testily, before telling myself off for ignorance and impatience. I silently recalled Sheen's words. After all that nun popcorn, the priest wouldn't know what had hit him when I walked in with my confession.

I was on holiday in the area. Walsingham was a place my mum used to take me to as a child and we used to have frequent family holidays on the north Norfolk coast. I'd always loved the shrine at Walsingham; its silence and simplicity. So when I found myself alone in the area for a week, it seemed the obvious place to go.

At the time I was being slowly drawn back to the Catholic Church after years of estrangement during my teens and twenties. I'd started praying and saying the rosary again, and skulked at the back of the church during Mass, reminding myself of the liturgy and what to do. The last step before receiving Communion again was Confession. And boy, was it going to be a big one.

It felt as if I had fallen so far. I knew objectively that God's mercy was assured, waiting for me if only I reached out and asked for forgiveness. But really feeling it - feeling myself truly forgiven - was something I could scarcely believe possible. My sins were just too big. How could He possibly forgive what I was about to confess?

I had killed someone. Worse, in fact. I had killed the most vulnerable someone it was possible to kill: my own baby, at eight weeks gestation. And in the years following that abortion, I'd gone off the rails and totally lost my way. The sin just spiralled until I was in such a dark place there seemed no way back. Continue reading

• Laura Keynes is a freelance writer based in Cambridge.