May Devotion at S. Magnus

On the Second Sunday after Easter, we celebrated our May Devotion in honour of Our Lady. After Mass, an image of Our Lady of Walsingham was carried in Procession through the streets of the City of London, and on arriving back at the Church, the image of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham was crowned with a wreath of roses. The Devotion was organised by the Fraternity of Our Lady de Salve Regina, which was founded in the Parish of S. Magnus the Martyr in 1343 and re-founded in 1922, the same year as Fr Hope-Patten revived the devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham by re-establishing a shrine in the Parish Church there. There's more information about the Fraternity on this blog, just click on the Fraternity Page in the right-hand menu. Membership forms are available on request.

The Procession arrives at the Monument.

The Procession around the monument. According to custom, a processional cross is carried by a Subdeacon.

Leaving the monument.

According to tradition, Processions are led by the Verger who in turn is preceded by the churchwardens of the Parish in their red gowns and staffs of office. Churchwardens have recently been appointed to the Parishes of S. Michael and S. Margaret, which make up the three United Parishes of which S. Magnus is one. The only remaining structure, however, is the Church of S. Magnus which serves all three.

The image in procession is that of Our Lady of Walsingham. She is carried in a sedan which usually constitutes the Pieta Shrine in the Church. The image is decked with seasonal flowers as a gesture of our devotion to the Mother of God.

After the Procession, the faithful retired to the courtyard where a Barbeque lunch was served.