The feast of Pentecost recalls the day when the Holy Spirit descended upon the followers of Jesus. It is celebrated by Christians fifty days after Easter as a reminder of the active presence of God in our lives, guiding, strengthening and consoling us in the challenges we face. A key belief is that the Holy Spirit is not given to one individual in all its fullness, but a gift to the whole community of believers. Instead of bringing uniformity, it creates a genuine unity in diversity by honouring the differences of its members, breaking down barriers, and bringing us together as one family before God.

    Every year Christians from different traditions gather on the Monday after Pentecost in the city centre of Manchester for a procession. The Whit Walk has been a hallmark Manchester event since it first started in 1801. It is said that it began as a response from church leaders to long working hours for children working in the cotton mills. The processions guaranteed the young labourers a day of rest during which they would not be drawn into drinking and gambling. Each community would have started the procession in their local church and walked to the city centre. During the 1920-30s the procession grew in popularity and at its peak up to 40,000 people would have taken part, inspiring many other similar walks in different parts of the country.

    Today the procession begins at Saint Mary’s Anglican Cathedral and goes down Market Street towards Saint Peter’s Square. Each of the communities carries colourful banners representing their church  and brass bands accompany them as they walk. The sides of the streets are lined with thousands of onlookers who come to watch the procession. Upon arrival at Saint Peter’s Square a service is held outside the Town Hall in the presence of the Lord Mayor and other religious representatives before walking back to Manchester Cathedral. The walk helps Christians to bear witness to their faith and demonstrate our colour, joy and determination to the other communities of the city.

    The Church of the Holy Name of Jesus on Oxford Road had participated in the procession since the late nineteenth century, but that tradition stopped in the 1960s due to demographic changes. The church is now home to the Manchester Universities Catholic Chaplaincy and in recent years the community has rekindled this old tradition. This year students joined the procession once again, with members of the local community, to bear witness to their faith and celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is guiding the life of our community ever more deeply and binding us together as one family before God, united in the diversity of our different cultures, and the different challenges we face. We are hoping that more students from other Christian denominations will join us in future years.

Philip Harrison

Manchester Universities Catholic Chaplaincy

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