The Pilgrimage now crosses the country to the valleys of the rivers Avon and Severn. The first shrine on the itinerary is that of Our Lady of Evesham, which has a strong claim to being one of the very earliest Marian shines in England and indeed in western Europe.
Glastonbury claims, arguably justly - and not simply on a legendary basis - a much earlier origin, but that is shrouded in mists and mysticism, not emerging fully into the historical record before the seventh century. Evesham enters history with a foundation story involving Eoves’ encounter with Our Lady and his bringing St Egwin to his meeting with the Virgin This narrative is strikingly similar to later stories of Marian apparitions and can be located in time and place. Evesham may be more recent than Glastonbury in its origin but it is more than three and a half centuries earlier than Walsingham.
My post about the shrine from last year, which requires the reader to navigate back to my first post about the shrine from 2020, which includes more about the history of the devotion and the abbey. These links can be accessed from Marian Pilgrimage - Our Lady of Evesham
May Our Lady of Evesham pray for Pope Leo XIV
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