Location: Whitekirk, south of North Berwick, East Lothian
Whitekirk Church: image © Adrian Welch
Large 15thC church, visited by Pope Pius II and popular with pilgrims to this day.
Whitekirk Church: image © Adrian Welch
Description:
Located in the hamlet of Whitekirk, south of North Berwick, north of Dunbar - is the 15th Century red sandstone structure which is the Parish Church of St. Mary.
Whitekirk was an important mediaeval centre of pilgrimage when a nearby well was pronounced to have healing qualities around 1300. A shrine to Our Lady of Haddington was constructed. The original Church structure at Whitekirk was a 12th Century parish church, under the jurisdiction of Holyrood Abbey. However, in 1413 around 16,000 pilgrims came to Whitekirk and King James I placed the Whitekirk under his personal protection and built hostels to shelter the
growing numbers of pilgrims.
In 1435, Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, the future Pope Pius II, walked barefoot through the snow from Dunbar to give thanks at Whitekirk Church for his survival of a storm in the Firth of Forth while coming on a mission to Scotland.
Scottish Churches in Edinburgh & Lothian
Churches to Visit in Scotland: 10 Years Commemoration Volume
Scotland's Churches Scheme, John R. Hume (Illustrator)
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