A new pilgrimage route was launched on Orkney on Easter Sunday, on the 900th anniversary of the death of St Magnus. The Rev David McNeish, minister of Birsay, Harray and Sandwick in Orkney, said plans for the St Magnus Way emerged after a small group of people from different churches came together to discuss a pilgrimage route on the island.
“When we started talking about a pilgrim route St Magnus, who is the patron saint of Orkney, was the first person who came to mind. After his martyrdom on the island of Egilsay his body was brought to Birsay on the mainland. Then 20 years later, when the seat of power moved to Kirkwall, his bones were taken there.
“So there was a journey Magnus himself took after his death, as well as evidence of people making pilgrimage to Orkney in the Middle Ages,” he explained.
The route has attracted funding and support from a range of organisations including the European LEADER fund, the Society of the Friends of St Magnus Cathedral, the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge (SSPCK), the local community council, Tesco and the Church of Scotland.
Historians from the University of the Highlands and Islands are helping to define the most accurate route and are writing the story that unfolds on the pilgrimage. The Orkney Pilgrimage group is also developing a phone app which will tell the story of St Magnus and provide background on places to stay or to find refreshment. Pilgrims will also find spiritual reflections for their journey.