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EUROPE: Pilgrims cycle to Rome to save Canterbury Cathedral
[Ecumenical News International] A team of 27 cyclists that includes a high court judge, a professor of music, the chief executive of a local council and a canon in the Church of England has left the historic city of Canterbury for Rome to help repair the world-famous Canterbury Cathedral.The cycling pilgrims left on August 10 and, if they can travel at 75 miles a day, they should arrive in Rome on August 24. The 1,200 mile trip will take them from the English county of Kent along the Via Francigena, an ancient Christian pilgrim route from Canterbury across France, Switzerland and Italy to Rome.
Companies in Kent are sponsoring the trip, which organizers hope will raise more than 100,000 British pounds (US$200,000) to repair and then further beautify Canterbury Cathedral. The ride will also draw attention to the need for massive capital injection to save other churches and historic buildings.
Last year, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, told Britons that 50 million pounds (US$100 million) is needed to save Canterbury Cathedral. A global fundraising campaign to finance an extensive conservation and development program was launched on October 6, 2006.
"This great cathedral is home for everyone in the Anglican Communion (75 million), wherever they may be around the world," said Williams.
Allen Willett, chairperson of the Canterbury Cathedral Trust Fund, said: "Canterbury Cathedral, which has survived for more than 900 years, is once again under attack. It is threatened by serious corrosion and deterioration caused by centuries of weathering and modern pollution, worsened by the limited repairs that scarce resources forced us to carry out following the wartime (1939-1945) bombing."
Before the party rode away on one of the hottest days recorded in England this year, Canon Edward Condry told reporters: "Our six months of serious training are at an end. It will be a major personal challenge for each of the cyclists. This is a special opportunity to travel a historic route and to raise money for charities."
The Via Francigena was first documented in the 10th century when the then-Archbishop of Canterbury, Sigeric the Serious, traveled to Rome in the days before the Protestant Reformation to visit the Pope in order to complete his consecration as archbishop.