St Mildred, and Mass, and Saxon buildings...

...and a link with Germany. All this and more at Minster Abbey, where a group of pilgrims from the Association of Catholic Women and the Continuity History Walks had a most beautiful day. The Abbey dates back to pre-Norman Conquest days,was closed under Henry VIII, and in its more recent history has links to Eichstatt in Germany, from where a group of six sisters arrived in the 1930s. There are now more than twice that number in the community, and we met the latest novice, and an Oblate, along with Sister Benedict who looked after us during our pilgrimage.Exploration of the Abbey, its garden and paths. The office of Sext and then Mass in the convent chapel with its great windows giving the glorious sweep of the trees and the sky above the sanctuary. The timeless reality of the Eucharist, the unchanging link binding us to long-ago Saxon sisters, and our voices raised in Newman's "Praise to the Holiest..." A potter around the village. Picnic lunches eaten on the Abbey's wide lawns. A presentation of the Abbey's history - which gave me the idea of perhaps doing a feature on St Mildred for EWTN, so watch for more on that. The peace of it all, a happy day. Final farewells over tea...

There was a train back to London which agreed to depart from Minster station, to our mild astonishment (see below). We were all a bit sad to leave, and we'll be back.