Our Lady of Walsingham
Our Lady of Walsingham is the principal patroness of our Ordinariate. Under this ancient and beloved English title, we honour the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and entrust ourselves and our mission to her maternal care and intercession.
At the heart of this devotion is the mystery of the Annunciation and the Incarnation. When the Angel Gabriel announced that she had been chosen to become the Mother of the Saviour, Mary responded in perfect faith: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” Through her fiat – her extraordinary yes to God – the eternal Son of God took flesh and became man for our salvation.
Mary always leads us to Jesus Christ. At the wedding feast at Cana, she brought the needs of others to Jesus and told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” These words beautifully express authentic Marian devotion: Our Lady always points us towards her Son.
The title Our Lady of Walsingham has particular significance in England. According to ancient tradition, in 1061 Our Lady appeared to Richeldis de Faverches and asked that a replica of the Holy House of Nazareth be built at Walsingham. The shrine became one of the great places of pilgrimage of medieval Christendom, and Walsingham became known as “England’s Nazareth.” Although the shrine was destroyed at the Reformation, the devotion survived and was eventually restored.
This devotion has particular significance for the Ordinariate. It was cherished and renewed within the Anglican tradition and is one of the treasures which the Ordinariate has brought into the full communion of the Catholic Church.
Mary’s own journey of faith also speaks powerfully to our vocation. She listened to God’s call, trusted him and followed where he led. Her fiat remains a model for our own discipleship and our willingness to say yes to God.
Under the title of Our Lady of Walsingham, we ask Mary to protect our community, strengthen its mission and lead us always closer to her Son, Jesus Christ.
Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for us.
St John Henry Newman
St John Henry Newman holds a special place in the life and spirituality of the Ordinariate. One of the greatest English Christians of the nineteenth century, Newman was an Anglican priest, theologian and leading figure in the Oxford Movement before being received into the full communion of the Catholic Church in 1845. His own journey towards Catholicism anticipated, in a remarkable way, the journey which many members of the Ordinariate have subsequently made.
Born in London in 1801, Newman studied at Oxford and became a Fellow of Oriel College and later Vicar of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. Through his study of Scripture, the Fathers of the Church and the history of Christianity, he became increasingly convinced of the claims of the Catholic Church. His conversion was neither sudden nor easy. It was the result of years of prayer, study and sometimes painful discernment, culminating in his reception into the Catholic Church by Blessed Dominic Barberi.
After becoming a Catholic, Newman was ordained a priest and founded the Birmingham Oratory, bringing to Catholic life many of the intellectual, spiritual and pastoral gifts which had developed during his Anglican years. He was created a Cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879. His motto, Cor ad cor loquitur – “Heart speaks to heart” – beautifully expresses his understanding of faith as a personal encounter between God and the human soul.
Newman is particularly important to the Ordinariate because his life demonstrates that entering into full communion with the Catholic Church need not mean rejecting everything that came before. The Ordinariate similarly receives what is good, true and beautiful in the Anglican tradition and brings it into the fullness of Catholic communion. Newman’s profound love of Scripture, the Fathers, beautiful worship, sacred music, learning and the English Christian tradition therefore resonates strongly with our own vocation.
His connection with the Ordinariate is also very concrete. When Pope Benedict XVI established the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in 2011, St John Henry Newman was placed among its principal patrons, together with Our Lady of Walsingham. Pope Benedict had beatified Newman during his historic visit to Britain in 2010, and Pope Francis canonised him in Rome on 13 October 2019.
Newman received a further and exceptional honour when Pope Leo XIV proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church on 1 November 2025. The title Doctor of the Church is reserved for saints whose teaching is recognised as having particular importance and enduring value for the life of the whole Church. His feast on 9 October has since been inscribed in the General Roman Calendar.
Newman’s journey was ultimately a search for truth and for the visible unity of Christ’s Church. His willingness to follow that truth, despite the personal cost, continues to speak powerfully to Christians discerning their own path towards the Catholic Church.
For the Ordinariate, St John Henry Newman is therefore much more than an important historical figure. He is a father in faith, a heavenly patron and a powerful example of the courage to follow Christ wherever he leads.