0:00:03 > 0:00:08'Britain is home to many of the most beautiful holy places in the world.
0:00:08 > 0:00:13'Our religious heritage and architecture is more varied
0:00:13 > 0:00:16'than virtually anywhere else on Earth.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18'My name is Ifor ap Glyn and I am on a journey
0:00:18 > 0:00:21'to explore the best of Britain's holy sites
0:00:21 > 0:00:26'and to uncover the rich and diverse history of our spiritual landscape.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32'I want to know how these places came to be,
0:00:32 > 0:00:37'discover what they reveal about the people who worshipped at them,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40'and explore why they continue to fascinate us today.'
0:00:40 > 0:00:42This place is incredible.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46'My journey will take me to towering mountain hideaways...'
0:00:46 > 0:00:50It was here that Saint Twrog took on the pagan forces of evil.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53'..icy healing pools...'
0:00:53 > 0:00:55I'm not sure what effect this is having on me,
0:00:55 > 0:00:58but it is certainly having an effect!
0:00:58 > 0:01:01'..and the graves of long-departed saints...'
0:01:01 > 0:01:04There's something quite unsettling about this relic.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07'I'll search out islands where the faithful
0:01:07 > 0:01:09'seek refuge from the world.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13'I'll wander ruins steeped in history...'
0:01:13 > 0:01:15His congregation were roused to come here
0:01:15 > 0:01:19and rip down the rich trappings of this cathedral.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24'..and descend into caves which have been sacred for thousands of years.'
0:01:24 > 0:01:26Wow! Wow!
0:01:26 > 0:01:31'From the divine to the unexpected, join me on a journey
0:01:31 > 0:01:34'to the unforgettable corners of our country,
0:01:34 > 0:01:36'the landscapes that make the soul soar.'
0:01:51 > 0:01:56'The idea of visiting a shrine is completely alien to me.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59'I don't understand how venerating the bones of a person,
0:01:59 > 0:02:04'however holy, can somehow bring you closer to the divine.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09'But I'm setting my prejudice aside
0:02:09 > 0:02:11'to try to understand this ancient tradition.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15'I want to find out why saintly relics
0:02:15 > 0:02:18'have played such a major role in our religious history
0:02:18 > 0:02:20'But surprisingly,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23'my journey begins at the side of a road in south London.'
0:02:26 > 0:02:29"The past," someone once wrote, "is a foreign country.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32"They do things differently there."
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Amongst the many aspects of our past that most of us would find foreign,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39we might list the veneration of saints,
0:02:39 > 0:02:43going on pilgrimages to sites associated with their life on Earth,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46and the evolution of shrines at those spots.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49Because, after all, we wouldn't do that...would we?
0:02:51 > 0:02:54'This spot, on the B306 in Barnes,
0:02:54 > 0:02:59'is where T-Rex frontman Marc Bolan, suffered fatal injuries
0:02:59 > 0:03:01'when his girlfriend's purple Mini
0:03:01 > 0:03:04'crashed into a sycamore tree by the side of the road.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06'He was just 29 years old.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13'The accident happened on September 16th, 1977,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17'and since then, this has become a place of pilgrimage.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22'Fans come from all over the world, to remember, to pay homage,
0:03:22 > 0:03:26'and feel a connection with a man most of them probably never met.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32'It's as if just being here, can somehow bring people closer to Bolan
0:03:32 > 0:03:36'and give more meaning to the music that has touched their lives.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40'And it's not just Marc Bolan who commands this sort of interest.'
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Even things that celebrities have merely touched
0:03:45 > 0:03:48change hands at auction for eye-watering prices -
0:03:48 > 0:03:52a lock of John Lennon's hair for ?24,000,
0:03:52 > 0:03:54Elvis Presley's belt for ?41,000,
0:03:54 > 0:03:58even Britney Spears's half-eaten sandwich
0:03:58 > 0:04:00sold on eBay recently for ?280.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04These are mundane objects that have acquired an aura of mystery
0:04:04 > 0:04:08simply by their connection with somebody whom we admire.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11"Memorabilia" is what we call these things today.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14But in medieval times, they'd have been known as "relics".
0:04:14 > 0:04:18'A religious relic is usually a piece of a saint's body,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21'or an object that was said to have been touched by them.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26'These days people may revere rock and pop stars,
0:04:26 > 0:04:28'but in more religious times,
0:04:28 > 0:04:32'saints were the celebrities of their day.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36'I'm heading to Scotland to discover just how much influence
0:04:36 > 0:04:38'the shrine of one dead saint can have.'
0:04:47 > 0:04:50This is the burial place of Saint Mungo.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52When he came here first, in the sixth century,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56the surrounding area was all open countryside
0:04:56 > 0:04:58and he made his home beside a river.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01He founded a church here, of which he eventually became bishop
0:05:01 > 0:05:04and was so well loved, that when he died,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06his grave became a place of pilgrimage.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13'After a while, so many people were coming to the field by the river
0:05:13 > 0:05:15'to worship at the grave of Saint Mungo
0:05:15 > 0:05:17'that a small village sprang up next to the church.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23'And in time, this village grew into a town,
0:05:23 > 0:05:27'and the church over the grave was rebuilt as a grand cathedral.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33'And, in turn, the town in which the cathedral sat grew into a city.'
0:05:40 > 0:05:42And this is that city, Glasgow,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Scotland's largest metropolis.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47The M8 thunders along behind us over there,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49a modern reminder of all the human traffic
0:05:49 > 0:05:53that's been drawn down the ages to the tomb of this holy man -
0:05:53 > 0:05:56none of this would be here if it wasn't for Saint Mungo!
0:05:59 > 0:06:03'Not surprisingly for the man upon whose grave Glasgow is founded,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06'legends abound about Saint Mungo.
0:06:08 > 0:06:09'Some believe he was
0:06:09 > 0:06:11'the illegitimate son of Scottish royalty,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14'some say he was King Arthur's nephew.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18'It's almost impossible to separate fact from fiction.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23'But we do know that Mungo came to this area around the year 540
0:06:23 > 0:06:25'and lived as a hermit in a small cell.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34'but he was called "Mungo" as a term of endearment.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39'"Mungo" in the ancient British tongue meant "beloved one",
0:06:39 > 0:06:44'became known as "Glaschu", which means "beloved community".'
0:06:47 > 0:06:51Philip Larkin once wrote that "What will survive of us is love",
0:06:51 > 0:06:54and nowhere is that more graphically illustrated than here.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58Because whatever we may think today about saints, relics and shrines,
0:06:58 > 0:06:59you cannot deny
0:06:59 > 0:07:04the very real presence of Scotland's largest city -
0:07:04 > 0:07:08a lasting testament to people's love for Mungo.
0:07:10 > 0:07:11'It'll be hard to top this,
0:07:11 > 0:07:16'but there is another saint who has a special place in my heart.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19'I am a Welshman through and through, and there is a saint
0:07:19 > 0:07:22'who has had an even greater impact on my country
0:07:22 > 0:07:24'than Mungo had in Scotland.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27'I'm in St David's to visit the shrine of a man
0:07:27 > 0:07:29'who not only founded a city
0:07:29 > 0:07:32'but who lies at the very heart of a nation.'
0:07:32 > 0:07:36I'm following in the footsteps of the thousands of medieval pilgrims
0:07:36 > 0:07:39who have flocked here to the shrine of Saint David.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41His cult here in the Middle Ages,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44not only shaped the whole history of the church in Wales,
0:07:44 > 0:07:49as our patron saint, he's helped shape our national identity.
0:07:49 > 0:07:50Now, it may seem strange
0:07:50 > 0:07:53that a country as thoroughly non-conformist
0:07:53 > 0:07:57and Protestant as Wales
0:07:57 > 0:07:58Perhaps it's because,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02unlike the other patron saints of Britain and Ireland,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04he's the only one who was born and brought up
0:08:04 > 0:08:07in the country that he came to represent.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14'David was born on the Pembrokeshire coast
0:08:14 > 0:08:16'and his mother, Non, was also a saint,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19'so he clearly came from good holy stock.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29'During his lifetime, David rose through the ranks of the church,
0:08:29 > 0:08:31'becoming first a monk, an abbot,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34'a bishop and finally, Archbishop of Wales.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38'He was famously strict on himself and others.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40'He refused to drink anything but water,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44'and the Welsh national symbol, the leek,
0:08:44 > 0:08:46'is maybe a reference to his Spartan diet.'
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Saint David's actual relics were lost at the time of the Reformation,
0:08:52 > 0:08:53but his stone tomb survives
0:08:53 > 0:08:57and has recently been restored to its former glory.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04'When the restored shrine was unveiled in 2012,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06the Bishop of St David's said,
0:09:06 > 0:09:09'"Let us pray that today will mark the beginning
0:09:09 > 0:09:13'"of our great mission to turn visitors into pilgrims."
0:09:13 > 0:09:15'To me, this seems like a bit of a tall order.'
0:09:18 > 0:09:21It's unlikely that restoring Saint David's tomb
0:09:21 > 0:09:24will radically alter how we think of him
0:09:24 > 0:09:26in predominantly Protestant Wales.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Although it was the cult of the saint here at St David's
0:09:29 > 0:09:32that brought him to prominence in the Middle Ages,
0:09:32 > 0:09:37he has since acquired a secular, and even political, significance.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40When we wear our leeks and our daffodils on March 1st
0:09:40 > 0:09:43and attend Saint David's Day dinners,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45we are affirming our national identity
0:09:45 > 0:09:48rather than our religious identity.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52'But there does seem to be something afoot.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55'50 years ago, people would have been surprised that shrines
0:09:55 > 0:10:00'like this were being restored at all, so maybe times are changing.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02'Or rather changing back again,
0:10:02 > 0:10:07'as I discover as I head into England and my next location.'
0:10:11 > 0:10:15I'm in St Albans, home to Britain's oldest Christian shrine.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20It's easy to understand the enduring appeal of Saint Alban's story.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22This was the site of the Roman town of Verulamium,
0:10:22 > 0:10:25and sometime at the dawn of the fourth century,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29Saint Alban was arrested by the Romans for his faith.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32He was tried in public and taken up the hill behind us to be executed.
0:10:32 > 0:10:33Now, does that remind you
0:10:33 > 0:10:36of somebody else in the Christian tradition?
0:10:37 > 0:10:41'Saint Alban died a terrifying and painful death
0:10:41 > 0:10:43'nearly 1,700 years ago,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46'in a scene reminiscent of Christ's death.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51'Perhaps this is why pilgrims soon flocked to his grave
0:10:51 > 0:10:54'and, in time, this cathedral was built in his honour.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02'This is considered to be one of the most important shrines in Britain.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05'It's certainly one of the most ornate.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08'But looks can be deceptive.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10'This is an Anglican cathedral,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13'and as the Anglican tradition rejected relics
0:11:13 > 0:11:15'during the Reformation,
0:11:15 > 0:11:19'Saint Alban's shrine has just been through a traumatic 500 years.
0:11:20 > 0:11:25'In 1539, it was smashed to bits and the rubble used to build a wall.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31'It was rediscovered in 1872 in nearly 2,000 pieces
0:11:31 > 0:11:34'before being painstakingly reassembled.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40'However it was not returned to this spot
0:11:40 > 0:11:43'at the very heart of the cathedral till 1992.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49'And a fragment of Saint Alban's shoulder blade,
0:11:49 > 0:11:54'the relic itself, was not placed back in the shrine until 2002.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02'I'm meeting with Jeffrey John, Dean of the Cathedral,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05'who was here during the celebration of Saint Alban's return.'
0:12:05 > 0:12:09When the relic was returned here in 2002,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13we had a rather grand service, and the bishop came over from Cologne
0:12:13 > 0:12:15to restore the relic to the shrine.
0:12:15 > 0:12:20And it had a surprising effect, even on the people here,
0:12:20 > 0:12:22where you might think there wouldn't be
0:12:22 > 0:12:24an instinctive interest in relics.
0:12:24 > 0:12:25One lady happened to say...
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Outside the cathedral, she saw the procession passing,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32she said, "Alban's come home then."
0:12:32 > 0:12:38And the Clerk of Works here, after the service, said to me,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41"I don't know, Dean, when that bone went back into the shrine,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44"it was like the battery went back into the works."
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Which is an extraordinary thing to say.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49But I do understand what he means.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52To be honest, before I came here,
0:12:52 > 0:12:54I hadn't had very much interest in relics
0:12:54 > 0:12:58or hadn't thought very much about devotion to them,
0:12:58 > 0:13:00but I can see why it matters.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04What exactly is it about relics
0:13:04 > 0:13:08that compels people to visit them and venerate them?
0:13:08 > 0:13:12The main thing is that it's a physical connection with the saint.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16We do this kind of thing in ordinary life.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18People sometimes keep a piece of jewellery
0:13:18 > 0:13:21from a loved one who's departed, or even a lock of hair.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24I think it's the same kind of thing.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29Any way of getting a more material connection or contact with the saint
0:13:29 > 0:06:36helps people to feel in communion with the saint, helps prayer. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'and the restoration of the shrine is surprising. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'It seems to suggest that the Anglican Church is turning away 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'from one of the key ideas at the heart of the Reformation.' 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 There doesn't seem to have been much opposition. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 I think people understand that what happened at the Reformation 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 was probably an inevitable kind of overreaction. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 There are many things about the veneration of relics 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 that we would never want to restore. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 I'm sure there was a great deal of superstition attaching to them, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 a great deal of bargaining and money attaching to them sometimes, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 all of which would have been corrupting and dangerous 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and we wouldn't want to see that again. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 But I come back to the fact that there is something 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 about the material connection that the relic makes possible 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 between the faithful and the saint 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 which is important and, perhaps, shouldn't have been lost. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 And I think that's what we are trying to restore. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 So, you're not worshipping the relic? Certainly not. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 The relic is an aid to worship? Absolutely. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'Saint Alban's martyrdom touched people in a profound way 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'and is still touching people over one and a half millennia later. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'It seems that bringing his physical remains back to this town 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'has had a real effect on people, it's not what I would have expected, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'but the more I learn about shrines, the more intrigued I become. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'I think it's time to go and visit the experts 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'in a place where the idea of venerating the saints 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'has never gone out of fashion. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'This is Westminster Cathedral in London, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'just down the road from the more famous Westminster Abbey. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'This is the most important Catholic Church in England and Wales 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'and a place where saints and their shrines 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'are held in the highest esteem. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'Since leaving Marc Bolan's roadside memorial 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'I have visited the shrines of saints 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'who lived well over 1,000 years ago, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'certainly long before the Reformation. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'But the shrine I've come to see here 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'is for a man who lived just 350 years ago, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'and it still has the power to shock.' 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 This is not a typical relic. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 It's not a small finger bone shut away in a case, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 or a piece of skull, or whatever. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 It's the entire body of Saint John Southworth, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 a man who died for his beliefs. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 He was executed, butchered by due legal process, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 hung, drawn and quartered, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and then his body reconstituted and spirited away, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and eventually brought back here. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 It's... It's very powerful, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 because it's a tangible piece of our history. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 It's not from the remote past, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 this is from 350 years ago. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 And, perhaps because of that, it's all the easier to see 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 how a relic such as this can inspire faith. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'The body beneath these covers 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'has undergone a basic form of mummification. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'The organs have been removed, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'but the dried remains of Saint John Southworth are largely intact. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'The physicality of this shrine is very moving, it's a tangible link 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'to the past, and I think that's what makes it so powerful. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'To hear more about John Southworth, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'I've arranged to meet the head of the Roman Catholic Church 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'in England and Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols.' 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 Well, Saint John Southworth 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 was a Lancashire man. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1613. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 And of course, at that time, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 being a Catholic priest was an illegal status. And dangerous. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 And a dangerous thing to do. Yes. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 But he ministered in Lancashire 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 till he was arrested for the first time in 1630. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 He was imprisoned in Preston 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and eventually sent down to prison here in London. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 By this time, magistrates were becoming sympathetic. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 He was basically allowed out on bail. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 Which meant that, in this area, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 in the streets around this cathedral, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 he then became a very well-loved figure, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 caring for the sick - especially those who had the plague - 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and administering the sacraments to them. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 That went on until 1654 when he was again arrested 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and brought before the magistrate. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 The story goes that the magistrate said to him, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 "You're charged with being a Catholic priest, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 "there is no evidence to prove that, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 "so if you would like to plead not guilty, you can go." 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 And he said, "I can't, I am a Catholic priest." 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 He was quite an old man by this time. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 "And I'm not going to hide the fact, everybody knows this. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 "And people would be astonished if I denied it in court." 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 So he was condemned to death. He was hung, drawn and quartered in 1654. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 And then, I think it's often the case with saints, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 then perhaps the more interesting part of their life begins! 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 His body was paid for by the Spanish ambassador, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 who stitched it together again 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and eventually it was returned to this cathedral in the 1920s. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'Saint John Southworth was clearly a very worthy man, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'but what makes people like him 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'so important to the Catholic Church?' 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 The Catholic understanding of saints 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 is that they are alive in Heaven 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and they are attentive to our efforts here 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and help us with their prayers. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 So there is, if you like, not just a memory relationship, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 but a living relationship with saints. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 I think sometimes it is a misunderstanding 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 that we worship saints. We don't. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 We offer them our love, and we ask for their prayers, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and we draw great strength from their example, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and their continuing presence as part of the living Church. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'I'm struck again by the idea that I had at the start of my journey. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'Saints were the celebrities of their age, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'and people hold on to their memory 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'because they were inspired by their lives and deeds. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'Maybe that's why there's a move back to revering saints. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'In our celebrity-obsessed world, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'what we now crave is a person upon whom 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'to hang our hopes, fears and aspirations.' 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 I remember vividly 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 the cortege carrying the body of Princess Diana 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 coming up the Edgware Road. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 And the Edgware Road was crowded with people. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 And they were throwing flowers forward 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 to catch them on the hearse as it went by. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 And somebody said to me, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 "Each of those flowers is a prayer for Diana." 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 The same man went on to say, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 "I think this moment marks the end of the Reformation in England, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 "that English people are discovering again their voice." 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 At the point of death, we do pray for those who have died. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 And they are discovering their vision of a future 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 which is so vividly expressed in the lives of the saints. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'The end of the Reformation is a big claim to make, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'but it's not the first time that people have said 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'that something profound seemed to happen in our society 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'at the time of Diana's death. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'We are used to visiting the graves of our loved ones, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'and I'm beginning to see that it's also possible to draw inspiration 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'and comfort from the memories of the dead saints. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'Something that connects us to a shared belief in what is good. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'I now understand how relics 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'can help some people to find that connection. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'It's time to go back home to Wales. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'I have spent most of this journey in the grand surroundings 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'of some incredible cathedrals, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'but now I am heading somewhere that couldn't be more different. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'This is Pennant Melangell near the Snowdonia National Park. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'It's home to the shrine of a woman who made this a place of sanctuary.' 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 Saint Melangell was a seventh-century princess 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 who became a hermit following an unwanted marriage proposal. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 She retreated to this valley 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and lived a life of prayer in harmony with nature. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 Until one day, when King Brochwell and his huntsmen 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 came to the valley, coursing hares. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 One of these frightened animals 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 hid beneath Melangell's cloak as she prayed, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 but she was able to use her saintly powers to save it. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 When the king's huntsman came and brought his horn up to his mouth, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 about blow the note to summon the hounds in for the kill, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 not a sound would come out, blow as he might. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 King Brochwell was suitably impressed by this 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and so he placed the valley and its wildlife 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 under Melangell's protection in perpetuity. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 And even to this day, hares are known locally 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 as "Melangell's little lambs". 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'Melangell's story is simple. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'She did not found a city, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'represent a nation or lay down her life in barbaric circumstances. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'But there is something about her that has endured. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'She lived here over 1,400 years ago, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'and her memory is still held very dearly. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'This church and shrine have a special place 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 'in many people's hearts.' 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 This is Saint Melangell's actual shrine 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 dating back to the 12th century. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 It stood on legs like this, apparently, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 so that pilgrims could more easily pray beneath her relics. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 The shrine itself was destroyed at the time of the Reformation 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and some of the bits were incorporated 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 into the lych gate and into the fabric of the nave. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 When they were rediscovered, just a little bit over 100 years ago, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 they tried to put it back together again like a huge jigsaw 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and, of course, some of the pieces were missing. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 But since the shrine has been restored, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 it's become a place for pilgrims to visit once again. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 Beneath the shrine, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 we have these cards, prayer cards, with these simple messages. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 "Dear Nan, 15 today. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 "There isn't a day we all go by without missing you." 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 "May this peaceful place bring healing powers to my dear wife." 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 Another gentleman - pray for his addiction recovery, please. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 "Grandma and grandad, I love you always." 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 They're very... 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 They're very simple messages. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 Um... 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and the idea that praying in this way, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 or leaving a prayer card in this way 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 can somehow make somebody better, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 or help to remember them, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 it may work, it may not. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 But there is no denying the emotional energy 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 that you can feel channelling through this place. There's a... 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 The pain...but also, the hope. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 And it's very moving. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 During restoration work, it was found that this part of church, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 that the footings were semicircular 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and it was rebuilt according to that design. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 Which may suggest this was the earliest part of the church, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 as that is an architectural style characteristic of the Romans 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 or at least Roman-inspired architecture. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 And, when they were here, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 working away on that, they found this grave. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 And within it were the bones of a woman of the correct period. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 It's thought that they may well be 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 the bones of Saint Melangell stowed here, or reburied here 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 at the time of the Reformation, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 where they remained in secret 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 until modern times, when they were restored to the shrine. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 So, it may well be that Saint Melangell's relics 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 are once again back in the shrine. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 It's difficult to know what it is exactly about this shrine 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 in this valley that appeals so much. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 Is it the simple story of a good woman? 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 Is it the fact that people feel that praying to her for help 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 can bring about results? 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 Is it simply the glorious, unspoilt setting 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 that instantly transports us back to her time here? 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 Because it is relatively unchanged. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 Whatever the reason, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and I guess, it must be a combination of all those factors, 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 there's no denying this place has an incredible appeal. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 It's one of the places that's moved me most. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 I didn't expect shrines to really get under my skin at all. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 But this place has been described as one of Britain's holiest places 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 and I, for one, am inclined to agree. 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd 25:24:53,811 --> 25:24:53,811 For three nights in a row, on BBC Four,