St Alban Day – Britain’s First Saint celebrations this Saturday

The story of St Alban will be re-enacted and celebrated this Saturday, honouring the legacy of Britain’s first Christian martyr.

St Alban Day – Britain’s First Saint celebrations this Saturday

The Alban Pilgrimage takes over the city of St Albans with a huge procession through the town with giant puppets and eyeballs on sticks and pilgrimage that ends in a contemplative Evensong in the Cathedral as people come together to tell the story of Britain’s first saint, Alban, executed at the hands of the Romans around 1,700 years ago.

Canon Kevin Walton of St Albans Cathedral said:

“Alban is Britain’s first Christian saint and takes us right back to Roman times, but his story is still powerful today as Alban stood up for truth and justice by sheltering a persecuted stranger. 

‘It is also the reason why the city is proud to be called St Albans and we celebrate this unique story with great drama, colour, and community engagement, filling the whole length of the city’s high street with our procession.

‘There is nothing quite like it in the whole of the UK as we celebrate Britain’s first saint and welcome pilgrims from near and far.

‘The Alban Pilgrimage is the highlight of our year at St Albans Cathedral,’ he added.

A citizen of Roman Verulamium (the third largest town of Roman Britain on which St Albans was built), Alban was martyred for giving shelter to the Christian priest Amphibalus.

Legend says Alban’s head rolled downhill after his execution and a well sprang up where it stopped.

The tradition of a pilgrimage to the site of his death can be traced back between 1,600 and 1,700 years, with the first written record of a pilgrim Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre (in current day France) in the year 429.

Today, the pilgrimage procession is a colourful re-enactment which tells the story of Alban’s execution using spectacular 3-metre-tall carnival puppets representing the saint, Roman Centurions, lions and chariots.

And last year two new puppets joined the procession – peregrine falcons – representing the birds of prey which have made their home at the cathedral.

Teh event is a partnership project with the city, St Albans City Centre Bid and there are street festival activities throughout the town and ancient crafts to try as well as a re-enactment of the story by actors from theatre company, OVO.

The pilgrimage day will close with a moment of reflection at Pilgrimage Evensong, concluding with a final procession to the Shrine of St Alban.