The Archbishop, along with the Bishop of Dover, Trevor Willmott, and the Canon Pastor of the Cathedral, Clare Edwards, joined around 120 pilgrims, some of whom had journeyed from Winchester, to walk the final mile into Canterbury Cathedral.
Preaching afterwards in the Cathedral during a special Evensong service, the Archbishop praised those who had participated in pilgrimages.
"Pilgrimage is not a strategy, it is an encounter’, he said. “Pilgrimage, like the journey through life, begins with possibilities. We set out with a sense of purpose, but with not much certainty. Our journeys are not well marked; we find ourselves in places we don’t expect with people we don’t expect. We encounter God in ways we don’t expect.”
Referring to the story of Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32), the Archbishop described how two followers of Jesus, walking away from Jerusalem after the crucifixion, encountered Jesus and were changed.
“As we journey, if we are open to possibilities and if we abandon ourselves to God, we find ourselves changed. Like the people on the road to Emmaus, we are filled with good news and we can become witnesses to the world.
“When we journey together we find God’s love; we can share this love with the world.”