Dominican friars get into habit of walking with 230-mile pilgrimage to Christ Church, Oxford

The four Dominican friars, dressed in their striking white habits, arrived at Christ Church yesterday, after the gruelling walk from Ramsgate via Canterbury.

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.

Fr Sam said: “The pilgrimmage 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.”

He said it was important for them to don their traditional garb, saying: “Nobody is going to notice us in ordinary clothes. This is a means of witness.

From left, Brother Bede Mullens, Brother John Church, Fr Sam Burke, Fr Toby Lees. Picture by Richard Watt

“Some people come up to us and ask who we are and what we are doing. They are often very interested.”