800th Anniversary Pilgrims - not Oxford Uni students on stag weekend. The four Dominican Friars who arrived in Oxford this afternoon (15 Aug 2021) after walking 230 miles from Ramsgate in Kent to Christ Church College, Oxford, via Canterbury, over the last 15 days. The pilgrimage, by Fr Sam Burke, Brother Bede Mullens, Brother John Church and Fr Toby Lees, was to mark the 800th Anniversary of the arrival of the Dominican Order in England in 1221. According to Fr Samuel Burke (with blue sunglasses), one of the four friars walking from Ramsgate to Oxford, the pilgrimage was an ideal way to follow in the footsteps of the first Dominicans to arrive in England. “It means we are going back to our roots — to our itinerancy, our poverty and appreciating God’s grandeur along the way.” The friars are dressed in their striking white habits. “Nobody is going to notice us in ordinary clothes,” said Fr Samuel. “This is a means of witness. Some people come up to us and ask who we are and what we are doing. They are often very interested.” L-R , Mullens, Burke, Church. Lees. Pics - Richard Watt
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