The next Laudato Si’ Mini-Pilgrimage will take place on Saturday 31 May 2025
between Leeds Cathedral and Kirkstall Abbey.
This is a fully risk-assessed pilgrimage walk, so all pilgrims wishing to join need to sign up in advance by contacting communications@dioceseofleeds.org.uk
(We just need the name, parish and mobile number of everyone who will be walking, so we can send out more information. Thank you!)
After the 12Noon Mass at Leeds Cathedral, pilgrims will walk down to the Leeds Liverpool Canal Basin where we will follow the towpath to Kirkstall Bridge, and from there, the footpath to the Abbey, where Leeds Museums and Galleries have generously agreed free entry for our group on that day.
The walk takes around two hours in total. The Abbey was dedicated to Our Blessed Lady and 31 May is a Marian Feast Day (Feast of the Visitation), so we will end the Pilgrimage by praying a decade of the Rosary and singing ‘Regina Caeli’ in the ruins of the Abbey Church. Pilgrims may then choose either to walk or catch the ‘bus back into Leeds.
Throughout this Holy Year of Jubilee (and hopefully beyond!) we will be holding at least one Laudato Si’ Mini-Pilgrimage or environmental event in each of the ‘FOUR Seasons of Creation’. As well as the environmental, conservation and sustainability elements, all our pilgrimages will involve either Mass, or an opportunity to spend time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, or the Holy Rosary or other Devotions. To be ‘extra sustainable’, each pilgrimage or event will be at a location which can easily be accessed by public transport or on foot.
For Summer, a Mini-Pilgrimage to St Robert’s Cave and the Chapel of Our Lady of the Crag in the Parish of St Mary in Knaresborough is being planned for August; plus a Harvest Festival on the Feast of St Francis of Assisi in one of our CAFOD LiveSimply Parishes will be organised for our Autumn devotions.
The date for the Winter event is confirmed as Saturday 13 December 2025. This will be an Advent Eco-Fair at the Diocesan Pastoral Centre, Hinsley Hall, Headingley. (Stalls, crafts, last-minute sustainable presents and friendly, practical eco-advice and light refreshments available.)