Manchester’s annual Whitsun Walk, celebrating the day the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles, is usually a joyous occasion. This year it will have a somber tone, taking place just one week after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt at the end of last Monday’s Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 and injuring dozens more.
Of those who died, seven were children under the age of 18. Prime Minister Theresa May, in her statement on the tragedy, said, “It is now beyond doubt that the people of Manchester and of this country have fallen victim to a callous terrorist attack, an attack that targeted some of the youngest people in our society with cold calculation.”
Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, said: “Heroic Manchester, dark evil cannot overcome it. We pray for those in sorrow on the hard journey of loss and pain, and for those who protect us.”
Solidarity was the message of David Walker, Bishop of Manchester, who spoke of the interfaith network put in place over the past three years, It brings “religious leaders, including imams, together… we had the network in place; we could move fast when this atrocity happened. It helped bring the city together for the vigils,” he said.
The cathedral where the walk begins is a few hundred yards from the arena where the attack took place. The walk will also stop at Manchester Town Hall, which has become a gathering place for those mourning the dead.
