Banner Source: By Pbritti - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87605940

"Whoever seeks my help there will not go away empty-handed."

Our Lady of Walsingham to Richeldis de Faverches

Richeldis de Faverches was a member of English nobility who received three apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the year 1061, after determining of her own accord to undertake honoring Her in some way.  According to tradition, the noblewoman was "transported" to the Nazareth home where the Annuciation of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary took place.  The Blessed Mother then made a request:  to build a replica in Walsingham of her childhood home in Nazareth, and to make it a place of pigrimage.  She assured the Englishwoman, "Whoever seeks my help there will not go away empty-handed."  The original home was made of wood, but later encased in stone to protect from weathering.  The local faithful knew it simply as "The Holy House", and became the shrine Our Lady requested of Richeldis.  Not long thereafter, the grounds became a monastery, and priory buildings were erected.  

Pilgrimages to the holy shrine were made throughout the years by English royalty, including:
 

• King Henry III
• King Edward I
• King Edward II
• King Henry IV
• King Edward IV
• King Henry VII
• King Henry VIII
• Queen Catherine of Aragon

Unfortunately, the house was destroyed during the reign of King Henry VIII courtesy of the sack of Catholic institutions and places of worship throughout England in the year 1538.  Thomas Cromwell and Sir Roger Townshend were directly reponsible for its looting, but even then, miracles continued even as the eminent statue of Our Lady of Walsingham was wisked away to London.  Its location became unknown thereafter, presumably destroyed at some point in time.  

Renewed Devotion

Devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham has made a significant reappearance since last century, as people of Catholic and Anglican creeds have readopted pilgrimages to Walsingham as an act of piety and devotion once again.  The Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham (right) is the last stop before the Holy  House.  

According to Wikipedia:  

 

Many modern pilgrims remove their shoes at the Slipper Chapel and walk the last mile, called the "Holy Mile", into Walsingham barefoot. The Slipper Chapel contains a stone statue of the Virgin Mary carved by Marcel Barbeau. The statue was taken to Wembley to be blessed by Pope John Paul II when he visited England on 29 May 1982.

Each year on 8 September, on the Feast of the Birth of Our Lady, the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham is carried for several miles in a procession which begins at the Slipper Chapel.

Pope Francis raised the sanctuary to the status of a minor basilica on 27 December 2015, along with the Catholic shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham via a pontifical decree from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.