The NEW DAWN gathering....

...at Walsingham. This is a vast gathering of young Catholic families - lots of children and teenagers - in a meadow at the shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham. In a giant tent, a sort of temporary cathedral,  Mass is celebrated and talks are given - and around the meadow are various other substantial marquees in which there are talks and workshops, with  music, activities for children and more...it has been held annually for just over 30 years and has played a major role in the great revival of Walsingham which began in the first years of the 20th century and is continuing at an expanded rate in these first decades of the 21st.

A great highlight of the week - held on Wednesday at the mid-point of things - is a pilgrimage down the Holy Mile, singing and praying the Rosary, to the ruined Priory where Mass is celebrated. It is a powerful experience to be part of a crowd of more than a thousand people singing "Ave Ave Maria", many walking barefoot in accordance with tradition, walking along the lane in the way that pilgrims have done for centuries.

Auntie Joanna's involvement in New Dawn included a talk on the significance of Mary in the plan of salvation and in the life of the Church: the New Eve, and Daughter of Sion...and part of this is the significance of male/female roles...