Marian Pilgrimage - Our Lady of Coventry

The Pilgrimage now veers west to Coventry and the shrine of Our Lady in the now destroyed cathedral of St Mary.

My post from last year, with its links to those from earlier years can be seen at Marian Pilgrimage - Our Lady of Coventry

I have always been intrigued by this ‘lost’ cathedral and went looking for what tiny portions were visible on my first visit to Coventry as a schoolboy in 1963. Since then a significant part of the site has been excavated and much more is known about its plan and structure.

Wikipedia has an illustrated account at St_Mary's_Priory_and_Cathedral and there is another, which looks at its potential similarities to its co-cathedral at Lichfield, from historiccoventry.co.uk which can be accessed at St. Mary's Priory, Coventry: St. Mary's Priory & Cathedral: Introduction

Despite the destruction of the 1540s and 1940s the area around the site of St Mary’s, the ruins of St Michael’s, Holy Trinity and the remarkable St Mary’s Guildhall are still, along with some attractive Georgian buildings, picturesque and fascinating, a place where the past, good and bad, still seems present. Elsewhere Coventry has other significant later medieval remains such as the tower and spire of the Greyfriara, remains of the Whitefriars as well as the church of St John Bablake, and some impressive timber framed houses.

The modern pilgrim can therefore feel they are close to their medieval predecessors.

May Our Lady of Coventry intercede for us and our intentions

Jesu mercy, Mary pray