Many of the pilgrims wore their traditional costumes as Priors and Prioresses of the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace. The Reformation The origins of the visit go back to 1538, when the first Shrine to Our Lady of Grace, situated in Lady Lane, Ipswich was destroyed by Royal command at the beginning of the breakaway Church of England at the Reformation.  | | The Shrine at St Mary at the Elms Church |
The statue of Our Lady was situated in one of the main national pilgrimage Shrines at that time and was thought to have been taken away by the King's men to be burnt at Chelsea..... But in the Italian seaside town of Nettuno, the local Church has a very old wooden statue of the Madonna and Child, known locally as the English Lady of the Graces. English Sailors It was taken there by English sailors, who had rescued it from the flames. They landed at Nettuno during severe storms and presented the figure to the townspeople as a thank you for offering them refuge. The Shrine in Italy is now a place of national and international pilgrimage, with more than two million visitors annually. Ecumenical Shrine  | | Pilgrims at St Mary at the Elms |
In 2002 a replica statue was placed in St Mary at the Elms Church, and a restored ecumenical Shrine, was set up. Pilgrims from Ipswich have visited Nettuno on several occasions for the Festival in May, but this is the first time there has been an official pilgrimage from Nettuno to Ipswich. During their visit the Pilgrims walked the old pilgrimage route from Cardinal Wolsey's old College, via the site of the original Shrine, they saw the statue and plaque on the wall in Lady Lane, and continued onto the new Shrine at St Mary at the Elms. Roman Catholic Mass The Roman Catholic priest accompanying the pilgrimage, also the Prior of the Nettuno Passionist community, Father Carlo Fioravanti, then celebrated what may have been the first Roman Catholic Mass in St Mary Elms Church since the Reformation.  | | Statue in Lady Lane, Ipswich |
Fr Haley Dosser, Priest at St Mary at the Elms said: "This was a wonderful chance for those who worship at the English and the Italian Shrines of Our Lady of Grace to come together, recognise our different historical and Church journeys, but celebrate our common roots, and pray for the unity which Our Lord commanded us to seek. "Our Lady of Grace has enabled us to do these things, and to forge some excellent friendships which will help us build our relationships in the future." The pilgrimage also included a trip to London to visit Lambeth Palace and Westminster Cathedral. | 
