Pilgrimages

Pilgrims of Hope - Whole School Day of Pilgrimage

Hope does not disappoint.”
Romans 5:5

During the Jubilee Year of Hope, the entire St James’ community — every student and every member of staff — became Pilgrims of Hope as part of our retreat programme.

With St James, patron saint of pilgrims, as our school patron, we wanted to mark the Jubilee in a way that was more than simply learning about it. We wanted to become pilgrims ourselves: to step away from our usual routines, make a journey together and create space to think, pray and reflect on what it means to be people of hope.

A whole school on pilgrimage

Every form group set out on pilgrimage to a different church within the Diocese of Westminster. Across London, the St James’ community, some travelling by tube, some by train, some by bus, some walking, travelled, talked and prayed together, discovering some of the beautiful and diverse churches that make up our Diocese.

Each pilgri had a passport offering moments to stop on the journey and pray, reflect or consider hope: what human beings hope for, what we hope for in our own lives, where we find hope when life is difficult, and what we hope for our communities and our wider world.

Each pilgrim carried their own prayers and hopes with them. At our destination churches, there was time to explore, to be still, to light candles and to pray. We brought our prayers of hope before God and entrusted them to Him.

Leaving a gift of hope

Pilgrimage is not only about what we receive, but also about what we bring.

Each form presented its host church with a light bearing the Pilgrims of Hope logo - a small gift of thanks for welcoming us and a lasting reminder of the prayers, dreams and hopes of the young people who had visited.

In this way, we left something of our pilgrimage behind: a light and a prayer that hope would continue to shine in each of the communities that had welcomed us.

Prayer • Community • Learning • Service

Our pilgrimage was a wonderful expression of the four pillars of our Dominican life.

We prayed, both on our journeys and in the churches we visited. We learnt, encountering new places and exploring some of the bigger questions about hope, faith and our world. We experienced community, travelling as forms and sharing an experience beyond the normal school day. And we were reminded of service — that Christian hope is not something we keep for ourselves, but something we are called to carry into the world and share with others.

After visiting their churches, form groups gathered for a picnic together in the park. These simple moments of eating, talking, laughing and spending time together were an important part of the day too. Our Dominican understanding of community reminds us that relationships matter and that there is real value in simply making time to be together.

A community of Pilgrims of Hope

By the end of the day, our school community had travelled in many different directions and visited many different churches, but we had all made the same pilgrimage. Some encountered difficulties- the untimely breakdown of the Northern Line hampered some returns to school and required some creative thinking from staff and students- but as in life, these challenges became part of the journey and the collective experience of the day and will be remembered for a long time to come!

Students and staff had stepped away from ordinary school life to walk together, pray together and think about hope - for ourselves, for one another and for our world.

We returned to St James’ having celebrated the Jubilee not simply as something happening in the wider Church, but as something in which every member of our school community had taken part.

We had carried our hopes out into the Diocese, placed them into the hands of God and returned ready to continue our journey together as Pilgrims of Hope.

Pilgrims of Hope - Turning Hope into Action

Our Pilgrims of Hope are a small group of students who have taken the message of the Jubilee Year of Hope and asked a simple but challenging question: how can we bring hope to others here at St James’?

Throughout the year, the group has met to identify areas of school life where they believe positive change could make a difference. They research their ideas, consider practical solutions and have presented their proposals to the Headteacher, giving students a genuine opportunity to participate in shaping their school community.

Their work has been wonderfully varied. They have explored the possibility of introducing a therapy dog; investigated the price and provision of food in our canteen, meeting with, questioning and challenging management from the company who delivers our meals; they have considered the issue of food waste; and planned and delivered retreat sessions for local primary school pupils on the theme of hope.

When the group identified hygiene poverty as an issue they particularly wanted to address, they moved from discussion to action. They organised a whole-school donation drive and created our Scrub-Up-Hub, providing toiletries and hygiene essentials that students can access discreetly for themselves or their families.

The Pilgrims of Hope continue to meet, listen, question and make plans, recognising that bringing hope to others doesn’t have an endpoint. The Jubilee Year may have provided the spark, but they have understood something important about Christian hope: hope isn't simply wishing that things were different. It asks us to notice where we can make a difference -  and then have the courage to begin.

Pilgrims for Peace

To mark the Jubilee of St Francis of Assisi, our whole school set out on a pilgrimage for peace - a retreat, a prayer walk and an act of social action all rolled into one.
Over the course of the final half term, every form followed the same pilgrimage route through central London. Each day, one group carried our Peace Baton, passing it on to the next form until students and staff across St James’ had walked, prayed and acted for peace.

Inside the baton was something important: our petition for peace. Every pilgrim - student and staff member - was invited to add their name, calling on those in government to keep the pursuit of peace at the forefront of their decision-making.
By the end of our relay, together we had walked more than 10 million steps for peace.

Pray for Peace. Act for Peace.

Our pilgrimage asked us to think more deeply about a word we use often: peace.
What is peace? Where does it come from? What does it cost? How do we protect it? What does it mean to be at peace within ourselves and our relationships? What creates peace within communities and between nations? And, perhaps most importantly, what is our own responsibility for making peace?

Our route was designed around these questions, with each stopping point offering a different perspective.
At the Ministry of Justice, we considered the relationship between peace and justice: can there be lasting peace where there is injustice?

In Parliament Square, surrounded by reminders of protest and public debate, we reflected on the importance of challenging injustice and the role that peaceful protest can play in bringing about change.

At the Cenotaph, we remembered that peace has a cost. We reflected on those who have sacrificed for peace and asked ourselves a more personal question: what are we prepared to give, change or sacrifice in order to make peace possible?
At 10 Downing Street, our reflections became social action. This was the destination for our petition and a reminder that our voices matter. Prayer for peace must also encourage us to act for peace.

At Horse Guards Parade, we considered what it means to protect peace, why nations have armed forces and the difficult questions involved in defending the peace we value.

Peace with Creation

Our journey then took us through St James’ Park, where the pace and atmosphere changed.
In the middle of one of the world's busiest cities, we found a place of beauty, nature and relative tranquillity. At Duck Island, home to a bird sanctuary, we reflected on another dimension of peace: our relationship with creation.

St Francis is remembered not only as a man of peace, but for his profound sense of kinship with the natural world. Our pilgrimage invited us to ask what it means to live at peace with our planet and how care for creation is connected to justice, peace and our responsibility towards others, beautifully reflecting the Catholic Social Teaching on Care for Creation.

A House of Prayer and Peace

Our pilgrimage ended at Westminster Cathedral - a house of prayer and a fitting place to bring our reflections before God. 
Students celebrated Mass together and were given time to explore the Cathedral, pray and discover some of its treasures. There was also a particular challenge: to find the mosaic of St Francis of Assisi. Having just walked through St James’ Park, there was something wonderfully appropriate about discovering him surrounded by birds!

Throughout the journey, students used their Pilgrim Passports to record reflections and write prayers for peace, bringing together everything they had encountered along the route.

Afterwards, forms shared lunch in the park- an important part of our retreat! Peace is built through relationships, and simply spending time together, talking, eating, laughing and enjoying one another's company,  helps to build the community we value so deeply at St James’.

On returning to school, our pilgrims were welcomed back with an ice cream and a St Francis medal: a small reminder of the saint whose example had accompanied us on our journey.

More than 10 million steps for peace

Form by form, day by day, the baton travelled. The names on our petition grew. The prayers accumulated. And eventually, virtually our entire community of students and staff had walked the same path.

Together, we walked more than 10 million steps for peace.

Our Pilgrims for Peace retreat gave us an opportunity to step away from ordinary school life and spend time considering one of the greatest challenges facing our world. It reminded us that peace is something we can pray for and something we must work for; something needed between nations, within communities, in our relationships and within ourselves.

And St Francis leaves us with perhaps the most important challenge of all: peace has to begin somewhere - and it can begin with us.

Pilgrimage to Medjugorje

Medjugorje is a small town in Bosnia and Herzegovina which has become a significant place of pilgrimage for Catholics from across the world. Since 1981, six young people from the area have testified to experiencing apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, honoured in Medjugorje as **Our Lady, Queen of Peace**. Today, pilgrims travel there in their thousands to celebrate Mass, receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, spend time in Adoration and seek a deeper relationship with Christ, with a particular emphasis on peace and conversion.

It was to this extraordinary place that a group of students and staff from St James’ travelled on pilgrimage. What followed was a remarkable week of **faith, friendship, challenge, laughter and encounter** and, for many of our students, an experience they will carry with them for a very long time.

From the beginning, we were wonderfully supported by **Fr Aidan**, a Passionist priest who has spent a great deal of time in Medjugorje and whose knowledge and guidance helped us to enter more deeply into the experience. Halfway through our pilgrimage we were joined by our own **Fr John**, whose arrival brought enormous joy to the group and made the second part of our journey particularly special.

Each day began together with morning prayer before breakfast, setting the tone for days that were full, very full, of talks, testimonies, visits, worship and new experiences.

Climbing Together

One of the great challenges of our pilgrimage was Cross Mountain. We woke early and set out together, praying the Stations of the Cross as we climbed. It was tough going at times, but every member of our group persevered and made it to the top. Reaching the cross together after the physical challenge of the climb and the reflection of the Stations was a profound moment for us all.
We also climbed Apparition Hill, this time praying the Rosary together as we made our way upwards.

At the top, we spent some precious time in quiet reflection near the statue of Our Lady. Amidst such a busy week, these moments of stillness were particularly powerful.

Prayer with the Universal Church

Some of our most moving experiences came in the evenings, when we joined thousands of pilgrims from across the world for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. This was time simply to be with Jesus, to bring Him our lives, our struggles and our joys, to speak to Him personally and, sometimes, simply to be still and adore the One who knows and loves us most profoundly.
Some students wondered beforehand how they would manage an hour of silence. In fact, for many it became one of their favourite parts of the pilgrimage. In lives so often filled with noise, activity and distraction, we discovered what a rare and precious gift silence can be.

There was also a powerful invitation to Reconciliation. With priests from across the world available to hear Confessions in many different languages, students who wished to receive the Sacrament could do so in the language in which they felt most comfortable.
Our students didn't simply attend the liturgies, they contributed to them. At the English-language Mass, they were invited to read and sing, and rose to the occasion admirably. In fact, singing became something of a feature of our pilgrimage; there was a *lot* of it!
We heard fascinating talks and personal testimonies throughout the week and were also privileged to meet Archbishop Aldo Cavalli, the Apostolic Visitor with a special role for the parish of Medjugorje. Our students had the opportunity to listen to him and ask their own questions, a memorable and thought-provoking encounter.

Throughout all of this, something became increasingly clear to us. The devotion to Our Lady that is so much a part of Medjugorje continually points beyond Mary to her Son. Whether through the Rosary, the Eucharist, Reconciliation or Adoration, at the heart of our pilgrimage was an invitation to encounter Jesus more deeply.

Pilgrimage, Friendship and Joy

Of course, pilgrimage is also about the people with whom we make the journey.

We were looked after with extraordinary warmth in a family-run guesthouse, where wonderful hospitality and generous meals made us feel completely at home. Our guide carefully coordinated a very packed programme and ensured that we experienced so much of what Medjugorje had to offer.

Alongside the reflection and worship, there was plenty of time for friendship and fun. We shared a picnic by the river, paddled in the water, laughed enormously and consumed an impressive number of ice creams! These moments mattered too. Travelling, eating, singing, struggling up mountains, laughing and simply spending time together created a very special community among our pilgrims.

We visited churches and other significant sites, including places associated with devotion to Our Lady, and listened to the stories and testimonies of people whose lives and faith had been deeply shaped by Medjugorje.

A Gift of Pilgrimage

Our pilgrimage was made possible through the extraordinary generosity of an anonymous benefactor, who funded the experience for our young people.

We are profoundly grateful for this gift. Pilgrimage offers young people something that is difficult to recreate anywhere else: the opportunity to step beyond the familiar, encounter new places and people, deepen friendships, ask important questions and make space for God.

Our benefactor asked for neither recognition nor thanks, but their generosity became part of the pilgrimage itself, a powerful example to our students of what it means to use what we have been given to create opportunities and joy for others.
We may not be able to name the person whose generosity made our journey possible, but they were very much a part of it. Every prayer, every song, every climb, every friendship strengthened, and every ice cream eaten, began with somebody choosing to give. For that, we will always be grateful.

Coming Home Changed

It is difficult to capture everything that happened during that week because some of the most important moments were deeply personal. Students were given time and space to question, listen, reflect, encounter their faith in new ways and simply to be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

For many, it was a genuinely profound experience. It strengthened friendships, deepened faith and inspired new habits that have continued since our return, including among students who came home with a new love for praying the Rosary.

All in all, each of us returned from Medjugorje a little different. For some, the impact was immediate; for others, perhaps it will reveal itself more gradually. Pilgrimage does not always give us neat answers, and we cannot always know in the moment what will stay with us, but seeds were planted during that extraordinary week and we trust that what began in Medjugorje will continue to grow, quietly and in ways we may not yet see, as the Lord brings those seeds to fruition in His time.