The 7 Stop Pilgrimage
- Stephanie Mahoney
- Mar 29, 2017
- 4 min read
My family has enjoyed traditions for almost every holiday of the year, liturgical and otherwise, since I was young. Last year, however, we added a new family endeavor on Holy Thursday after Mass at my home parish, Saint Vincent de Paul: The Seven Churches Visitation. It was a new concept to me, yet familiar to my parents who grew up in Chicago where the practice was common. So what is it exactly?
Holy Thursday is the feast that marks the end of Lent and the beginning of the Holy Triduum, which also includes Good Friday, Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday. At this Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Catholics remember the Passover meal when Jesus instituted the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist by sharing bread and wine with his disciples saying, “Do this in memory of Me.”
At the end of Mass, the Holy Eucharist is placed on a temporary “altar of repose” away from the sanctuary. It is customary for the faithful to process together to this altar and spend time in quiet prayer and adoration. In the Roman Missal, it states, “The faithful are invited to continue adoration before the Blessed Sacrament for a suitable length of time during the night, according to circumstance.”
The Seven Churches Visitation is a tradition that grew out of this time of prayer and adoration. Catholics remember when Jesus asked his disciples to stay and watch with him while they were in the Garden. This tradition – mindful watching – is a sort of pilgrimage to various altars of repose in different churches that correspond to each of the seven places or “stations” that were made by Jesus between the Last Supper in the Upper Room to His crucifixion on the cross.
The seven stations include:
-Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22: 39-46)
-Jesus bound and taken before Annas (John 18: 19-22)
-Jesus taken before the High Priest, Caiaphas (Matthew 26: 63-65)
-Jesus taken before Pilate (John 18, 35-37)
-Jesus taken before Herod (Luke 23: 8-9; 11)
-Jesus taken before Pilate again (Matthew 27: 22-26)
-Jesus given the crown of thorns and led to his crucifixion (Matthew 27: 27-31)
Prior to Holy Thursday, I called up local parishes in Fort Wayne to find out adoration times and made a Google map of the ones that had adoration late into the night. If you live in our diocese, this is a helpful map to find parishes close to you.
Preparing for this first year, I researched what sort of prayers are typically said. Canonically, there is no particular way that this tradition must be carried out. However, many articles I read said that upon entering each church, pilgrims will visit the altar of repose, kneel, make the sign of the cross, read the appropriate scripture for each station with private prayer and adoration. Some may add other prayers as well. At the seventh station, many will close with a holy hour.
I created this two sided page that you are free to use. Of course, my pre-planned route forgot to include the drive time in between each location, and so, there were two stops where we had to pray in the car outside of the locked church, knowing that Jesus was inside, because we got there too late.
The Seven Churches Visitation is typically credited to St. Philip Neri and is practiced by Catholics around the world in Poland, Mexico, Italy and the Philippines. Given my Polish roots, this was not a surprise to me. The devotion can also be traced back to the Station Churches of Rome where the tradition is still practiced. George Weigel wrote a book about it: “Roman Pilgrimage: The Station Churches.” Some will also argue that the Holy Thursday pilgrimage has roots in the Book of Revelation in which the Seven Ancient Churches are visited by an angel.
I'm looking forward to continuing this pilgrimage this year and invite everyone to join my family in the devotion. For those that live in an urban area with several Catholic churches nearby, you may want to visit seven different churches. However, for those who live in a rural area, you can still take part in this tradition by praying all seven stations. For participating families with young ones, adaptations can be made for the sake of time and parish availability. For example, you may choose to say prayers for two stations at one location.
The Seven Churches Visitation is a powerful way to spend time in adoration, meditating on Christ’s sacrifice of love for the salvation of souls in preparation for the joy of Easter. There is something special about visiting churches late into the night. It’s not just because of the opportunity to visit other parishes, it’s because of intentionally seeking Christ to spend time with Him and contemplating the gift of His love.
UPDATE: I've gotten several requests from those who live in Fort Wayne to know which parishes will be open late. Here is a list of parishes that wanted to be included:
-- Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 1122 S. Clinton St.; Mass at 6:30; Adoration until 11 p.m. in the St. Mother Theodore Guerin Chapel
-- Sacred Heart; 4643 Gaywood Dr.; Mass at 7 p.m.; Adoration until midnight
-- St. Charles Borromeo; 4916 Trier Rd; Mass at 7:30 p.m.; Adoration all night
-- St. John the Baptist; 4501 Arlington Ave; Mass at 7 p.m.; Adoration until midnight in the Guerin Chapel (door under canopy marked ‘chapel’)
-- St. Joseph; 2213 Brooklyn Ave; Mass at 7 p.m.; Adoration until 11 p.m.
-- St. Joseph Hessen Cassel; 11337 Old US Hwy 27 S; Mass at 7 p.m.; Adoration until midnight -- St. Jude; 2155 Randallia; Mass at 7 p.m. ; Adoration until 10 p.m.
-- St. Patrick, 2120 S. Harrison St.; Trilingual Mass at 7:30 p.m ; Adoration in Lyceum Hall after Mass After Mass until midnight. All 3 communities will have the chance to pray in their own language (first English, followed by Vietnamese and then by Hispanics.)
-- St. Therese, 2304 Lower Huntington Rd.; Mass at 7 p.m.; Adoration until Midnight
-- St. Vincent de Paul; 1502 East Wallen Rd.; Mass at 7 p.m.; Adoration until 11 p.m. in the Life Teen Center and in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel all night.
Comments