Walsingham is truly an ecumenical place. You feel this as soon as you enter the village; Orthodox, Anglican, and Roman Catholics all venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Walsingham. I've long felt that Walsingham is the
to fruitful ecumenical relations for the Body of Christ.
As I've posted before regarding the arms granted to the College of Guardians of the Holy House of Our Lady of Walsingham--the Anglican Shrine--it's time to examine its nearby Roman Catholic cousin, the National Shrine and Basilica.
The "Slipper" Chapel
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The National Shrine and Basilica of Walsingham.
Source: ExploreWestNorfolk.co.uk |
Long known as the "Slipper Chapel," this structure dates to the mid-14th century and dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria. Located roughly one mile from Walsingham, the chapel served as the last stop for those making their pilgrimage to the Holy House. With bare feet as an act of humility, the faithful would removed their shoes at the chapel before proceeding onwards to Walsingham.
"When this chapel was built, Walsingham was second only to Canterbury in the ranks of English pilgrimage. The replica of the Holy House, where Mary had received news of her pregnancy from the Angel Gabriel, contained the precious statue of Our Lady of Walsingham. Thousands of people made their way here, down the muddy tracks and over the rolling Norfolk fields.
"At Houghton St Giles, they would enter the orbit of Walsingham, their goal now almost in sight. It may be that they took off their shoes here, and walked the last stretch barefoot. It might also be the case that this is why it is called the Slipper Chapel. And it may be that it is not true, or even likely, for many of the pilgrims here would probably have been barefoot long before they reached Houghton" (Knot, 2023).
The chapel's history waxed and waned through the years and eventually fell into disrepair. A wealthy lady, Miss Charlotte Pearson Boyd discovered the property and quickly purchased it on June 26, 1896. and gave it to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Northampton for use. The bishop charged the Benedictines at nearby Downside Abbey to care for the place.
In time, a statue of Our Lady of Walsingham was commissioned and stayed at the nearby Roman Catholic church in Kings Lynn. Knott recounts that on occasion, pilgrimages from Kings Lynn to Walsingham took place as the statue of Our Lady was carried in procession.
Knott continues his story of the chapel:
"And so things might have remained, if it had not been for the emergence on to the Walsingham scene of one Alfred Hope Patten. In 1921, he became Anglican Vicar of Little Walsingham. A devout and energetic Anglo-catholic, Hope Patten found himself to be the right person in the right place at the right time. Everything came together, in this decade when Anglo-catholicism reached the peak of its influence in the Church of England, and the Church itself was the most vivid it would ever be in the national consciousness. He installed an image of Our Lady of Walsingham in the Anglican parish church of St Mary.
"Throughout the 1920s, visits to the statue grew in popularity, until thousands of Anglo-catholics each year were coming to pray in the church and to process around it. As you may imagine, the Anglican Bishop of Norwich was outraged, and demanded that Hope Patten remove the image from his church. Hope Patten being the kind of man he was, he acceded to this request by building a new replica of the Holy House on the other side of the Priory ruins, and placing the statue inside it.
"At last, the Shrine of Our Lady had been returned to Walsingham - but, much to the the chagrin of the Catholic Church, it was an Anglican one" (Knott, 2023).
Good old Hope Patten! From here the National Shrine's presence grows, aided by two important papal actions. The shrine was elevated by a canonical coronation decreed by Pope Pius XII in 1954, and later Pope Francis elevated the National Shrine to a minor basilica in 2015.
Arms of the National Shrine & Basilica
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Arms of the Augustine Priory of Our Lady of Walsingham
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025
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So now the heraldry bit. Upon the elevation of the shrine to a basilica, external ornaments are required in order for the arms to show its new status, by adding the papal umbraculum or "big umbrella" and crossed keys.
Ordinariate News provides the following information:
"Dr. David Woolf has been a longstanding pilgrim and supporter of the Shrine and remains a member of the Order of Our Lady of Walsingham. He has links with the Rector of the Basilica, Monsignor John Armitage, who has since asked him to ensure that heraldically suitable Arms might be adopted by the Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham.
"A manuscript dating from c. 1510 records the Arms of the Priory of Walsingham as Argent on a cross sable five lilies slipped argent, i.e. a black cross on a white background, with five lilies superimposed on the cross. The Basilica is now the modern day successor of the Priory of Walsingham, and as such it is appropriate that the Basilica has assumed the Arms of the Priory. These Arms have been augmented to include the ombrellino and the Papal crossed keys: one gold, the other silver" (Murphy, 2016 March 7).
And here's where I ask the question: does the basilica have the right to bear the undifferenced arms of the Augustinian Priory of Walsingham? With all due respect, my answer: no.
Consider the following:
1. When the College of Guardians of the Holy House of Our Lady of Walsingham petitioned the College of Arms in 1945 for armorial ensigns, the arms were differenced from those of the Priory by adding a blue canton with an image of the Holy House in gold. The College of Arms, most likely, would not make a new grant without some change made to an existing coat of arms. The ruins of the priory, it should be noted, are located within the bounds of the Anglican shrine at Walsingham.
2. When Pope Benedict XVI created the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in 2009, the adopted arms had two marks of differencing from those of Walsingham--replacing the color of the cross from black to blue while selecting fleurs-de-lis for the Madonna lilies. These arms are impaled along with those used by Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890) to form the official coat of arms of the ordinariate.
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L-R: Arms of the Anglican Ordinariate in the UK and US
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
The illustration above shows the arms of the Ordinariate in the UK (left) and in the US (right). Below are the arms of the US ordinariate's cathedral in Houston, Texas, Our Lady of Walsingham Cathedral. I placed the arms within a traditional arrangement for cathedrals using a mace and crozier in saltire. I set the arms of the US Anglican Ordinariate within the crook for additional identification and decoration, and the whole ensigned with a bishop's miter and infulae draping to the sides.
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Arms for Our Lady of Walsingham Cathedral in Houston, Texas
Seat of the Bishop, US Anglican Ordinariate
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
The arms of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham are blazoned: Per pale, in dexter argent upon a cross azure five fleurs-de-lis proper [Ordinariate]; the sinister half, Or upon a fasce dancette gules between three heart gules [Newman].
3. The original arms, as far as we know, were used by the Priory of Augustinian canons in Walsingham. The National Shrine is simply not a successor able to use these undifferenced arms--the National Shrine is neither a priory nor Augustinian. Simply being the same denomination does not grant successor status in my opinion.
I'm not the sort of chap who complains without proffering solutions. I propose a revision to the arms currently being used by the National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham.
A Proposal for Unification in Arms
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Illustrating possible unification in arms between the National Shrine & Basilica and the Anglican Shrine of the College of Guardians
Click image to enlarge
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
Illustrating unification in corporate heraldry is a beautiful concept. When designed and executed properly, a suite of armorial ensigns harmoniously display bespoke identification for the corporate sole and surrogate foundations.
As I wrote at the beginning of this article, Our Lady of Walsingham has a special charism at work in the hearts of Anglicans, Roman Catholics, and Orthodox Christians. Our Lady, in other words, is a bridge between Christ and His Church. Thus, Our Lady of Walsingham serves as a powerful unifier for all Christians and denominations. Why not incorporate this charism into the heraldry of Walsingham? The desire for unification in arms (and certainly more widely for the Body of Christ) forms the basis of my proposal.
I've rendered my little thought experiment above to illustrate the design proposal. The revision, in my opinion, follows with what I believe is in keeping with one practice used by the College of Arms for differencing existing arms. I could be wrong.
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Processional banner of the proposed arms for the National Shrine & Basilica
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
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Armorial flag of the proposed arms for the National Shrine & Basilica
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
On a processional banner or armorial flag, the proposed arms look dignified and worthy of the National Shrine and Basilica. The flag would not have to comply with the Earl Marshal's Warrant of 1938 which regulates ecclesiastical flags for the Church of England.
The blazon I offer for the proposed revision of arms of the National Shrine & Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham: Argent, on a cross Sable five Madonna lilies slipped and seeded proper, on a canton Azure a crescent Or.
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Proposed revision of arms for the National Shrine & Basilica
of Our Lady of Walsingham
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
The crescent charge has long been a Marian symbol and rendering it in gold alludes to Pope Pius XII's canonical coronation of the shrine. I also like how the crescent charge plays with the cadency mark. In a sense, the Basilica is the "child" of the Priory (albeit a distance one, like a different cadet branch, and not able to inherit the undifferenced arms). The canton reflects Our Lady's color of blue while providing ties for unification with the arms of the College of Guardians.
Maybe I've missed something, as I am by no means an expert in heraldic law and inheritance. In the meantime, may the charism of Our Lady of Walsingham continue to spread in the hearts and minds of souls everywhere.
.PNG "Attributed arms of Black Lives Matter")
