3rd Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage Tuesday 30th July!

Today is GKC's Birthday! So the 3rd Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage will be held on Tuesday 30th July. After the first Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage, someone pointed out that we couldn't call it 'annual' as we'd only had one! Well we can now, as we are into our 3rd year! (Report, with photos, of the 2nd GKC Pilgrimage can be read here)

"Why on a Tuesday?" Well. William & Lucy, of last year's Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage, are getting Married on the nearest Saturday. And Fr Schofield couldn't do that Saturday. And Bishops are not often available on Saturdays. And the Metropolitan Police force said "it is to be hoped that less people will attend on a weekday, and thus we will be able to control the crowds........"

As Tuesday 30th July is the 91st anniversary of Gilbert Keith Chesterton becoming a Catholic, the theme and prayer intention of this year's Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage, will be the Conversion of my Mum. Oh, and the Conversion of anybody you would like us to pray for along the way! You can leave names of people to be prayed for in the comments below (they will not be published) or you can send me a DM on twitter (@Stuart1927).

Dale Ahlquist of The American Chesterton Society has a list of over two hundred people Converted by GKC. You can read Dale's Conversion story here. The result of GKC Converting Dale to the Catholic Church is amazing, hundreds of thousand of people, or maybe millions, have seen him promote Chesterton on EWTN. You can learn a lot about GKC by watching Mr Ahlquist each week on www.ewtn.co.uk or sky 589, on Tuesdays at 5pm, Wednesdays at 6.30am or Thursdays at 10pm.

BRING A PACKED LUNCH! After Mass last year we had to go back to the shops to buy lunch for 75% of those attending the Pilgrimage! We will not be doing this again. BRING A PACKED LUNCH! Some unkind sorts last year blamed this on the organiser (who had bought a PACKED LUNCH) as they claimed that LUNCH had not been mentioned in the posters, blogs, etc! BRING A PACKED LUNCH!

Plan for the day; Meet outside St George's C of E Church, Aubrey Walk, London, W8 7JG, where GKC was Baptised as a baby. Then at 8am start walking to Uxbridge (15 miles approx).

1.30pm Old Rite Mass (which will be a Sung Mass due to the support of The Latin Mass Society), in thanksgiving for Chesterton's Conversion, which took place 91 years ago on this day. Our Lady of Lourdes and St Michael, Osborn Road, Uxbridge, UB8 1UE. You are welcome to attend the Mass even if you are not doing the walk. Walk on to Beaconsfield (10 miles approx) where Chesterton lived, converted, died and is buried. Then we will say the prayer for the Beatification of GK Chesterton at his graveside. You can find the prayer here; http://www.catholicgkchestertonsociety.co.uk/

For more details or to join the pilgrimage email catholicgkcsociety@yahoo.co.uk or DM on Twitter and/or follow on the day, @Stuart1927 or sign up on Facebook.

"Have we now, [seventy-eight] years after Chesterton's death, reached a kind of tipping point in his reputation, of the same kind that Newman's reputation reached, leading to the opening of his cause in 1959, seventy-eight years after his death?" Dr Oddie