The National Shrine of Our Lady, at Walsingham, is preparing to welcome Fr Sunday Ikpe OSA (Prior), Fr Charles Chimaobi OSA, and Fr Eric Taru OSA, who will each be ministering at the Shrine and to pilgrims as members of the Shrine Team from October 2024. Upon their arrival in mid-September the Friars will experience a short period of orientation, and then begin an extended programme of induction into the life, mission, and dynamics of the National Shrine of Our Lady. The Friars will minister under the supervision of the Shrine’s Rector, Rev Dr Robert Billing.
In advance of the forthcoming Jubilee year, this project is a significant moment in the life and history of the National Shrine of Our Lady, at Walsingham. The famous Priory (often known today as ‘the Abbey’), and famed Marian Shrine, which housed the original replica Holy House of Nazareth, was administered by Augustinian Canons from 1153 all the way up to the medieval Shrine’s dismantling, and the Priory’s subsequent destruction in 1538, at the hands of Henry VIII’s commissioners.
Fr Billing commented upon the imminent arrival of the Friars to the Shrine:
“After much hard work behind the scenes and the support of the local Bishop, I am delighted that the Nigerian Province of the Augustinian Order has responded so generously to my request and that three young Friars will soon be among us for service at the Shrine in Walsingham. Their arrival, the establishment of a new Priory in service of the Shrine, and their ministry here not only promises so much for the future mission of the Shrine but also pays rich tribute for the Augustinian tradition of Canons that faithfully served the Shrine from the 12th century, until the Shrine was tragically dismantled, and the priory destroyed, at the time of the English Reformation.
Fr Billing concluded:
“We give thanks to Almighty God, Our Lady of Walsingham, and Saint Augustine of Hippo that we can soon rejoice in the restoration of the spirituality and service of the Augustinian Order to our restored and vibrant holy Shrine and place of pilgrimage today.”
Source: The Catholic National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady
