Pilgrims at Walk the Cross

Pilgrims at Walk the Cross

17 September 2025

AROUND 150 pilgrims from as far as Mayo and America walked from St Patrick’s Church in Saul to Carryduff on Saturday to witness their Christian faith.

The Walk the Cross event, which was matched with walks in  England, Scotland and Wales, was organised by Armagh man Anto Crossey

He said: “The spirit is very strong in this country right now. The cross is the antidote to pain and suffering if we unite our personal cross with the cross of Jesus.”

He said he was inspired to celebrate the power of the cross and this was the third event in recent years. This year pilgrims walked 33km to mark each year of Christ’s life.

Deacon Jackie Breen from Saul blessed the pilgrims on their way and the rain stayed off until the end, with the heavens opening as they approached their bus in Carryduff. 

“I can’t think of a better way to spend my birthday,” said Charmaine Jaine of Indiana, USA, who was visiting cousins in Belfast.

She was joined by Marie McMillan, from Ardoyne, and Nicole Howie, West Belfast.

Dungiven iconographer, Patrick McMacken, walked the whole route, carrying a statue of St Patrick.

“The laity want to get out and show their faith,” he said. 

Prayers were offered along the way, with support offered to walkers by Newcastle woman, Veronica McGreevy, and others. 

Mayo man Robert Burgess was among the pilgrims, while Siobhan Brennan, from Dromara, said she was blessed to be able to walk the first leg from Saul to Crossgar.

She said she met great company and was able to connect with “like-minded folk” along the way.

“Blackberries, warmed by the sun, straight from the hedgerows for breakfast,” she said. “It was a very prayerful, joy-filled experience.”

Mrs Brennan went to Belfast on Sunday for day two of the walk, which included a Eucharistic procession down the Falls Road to St Peter’s Cathedral, which was opened to pilgrims by Downpatrick-born priest Fr Martin Graham.