St. Philip Neri's Seven Churches Visitation

"And he cometh to his disciples, and findeth them asleep, and he saith to Peter: 

What? Could you not watch one hour with me?" (Matthew 26:40)

Holy Thursday is one of the most sacred and holy nights that the liturgical year has to offer. It is the commemoration of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, when he established the sacrament of Holy Communion prior to his arrest, scourging, and crucifixion. It also commemorates His institution of the priesthood on the Apostles. This holy day falls on the Thursday before Easter and marks the end of Lent and the beginning of the Holy Triduum (which includes Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday). Jesus celebrated the feast of Passover on this night and it was this night that Christ would fulfill His role as the victim of the Passover for all to be saved by His final sacrifice.

The action of the Church on this most solemn night also witnesses to the Church's esteem for Christ's Body present in the consecrated Host in the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It is on this night that, after having celebrated the Passover, Jesus is betrayed by Judas, arrested, escorted to Caiaphas, and imprisoned until the morning trial. The faithful, this night, are able to accompany our Lord.

Once escorted and beaten by the temple guards from the Garden of Olives, Christ is now adored and carried in solemn procession to the Altar of Repose, where He will remain imprisoned until the communion service on Good Friday. No Mass will be celebrated again in the Church until the Easter Vigil proclaims the Resurrection. Just as the disciples stayed with the Lord during His agony on the Mount of Olives that night, so are the faithful encouraged to remain with our Lord in prayer and contemplation at the great mystery which we have entered into.[1]

The veil is opened to reveal the imprisoned Christ. 

Altar of Repose: St. John Cantius Church, Chicago

The Seven Churches Visitation is a tradition that grew out of this time of prayer and adoration. It is this night that Catholics remember when Jesus asked his disciples to stay and watch with Him for one hour while they were in the garden (Matthew 26:40). This tradition of mindful watching and praying with our Lord throughout the night developed into a little pilgrimage to various other altars of repose throughout the faithful’s town or city. These seven visits correspond to 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 consist of:

Jesus in the Garden in Gethsemane where He was arrested (Luke 22:39-46)

Jesus taken before Annas (John 18:19-22)

Jesus bound and taken before Caiaphas, the High Priest (Matthew 26:63-65)

Jesus taken before Pilate, the Roman governor (John 18:35-37)

Jesus goes before Herod (Luke 23:8-9, 11)

Jesus returns to Pilate (Matthew 27:22-26)

Jesus is scourged, crowned with thorns and led to His crucifixion (John 19:1-16)

Upon entering each church, pilgrims visit the altar of repose, kneel, make the sign of the cross, and read the appropriate scripture for each station and engage in private prayer and adoration. Often other prayers are added based upon local custom and tradition. At the seventh station, many will close their pilgrimage by opting to observe a Holy Hour.

When in the spring of 1553, Pope Julius III permitted the re-introduction of the custom of celebrating Spring Carnival to Rome, he unleashed amusements and carousing that made the Eternal City a place filled with shameful behavior and degradation.

The origin of the Seven Churches Visitation is credited to St. Philip Neri who established it at this same time. St. Philip instituted the seven church walk to “remind us that our life is a pilgrimage.” He and a few friends would gather before dawn and set out on their “Seven Churches Walk.”[2] These pilgrimages were designed to counter the raucous behavior of Carnival where people spent the night wandering about the city in revelry and drunkenness. In a few years, after the Carnivals had ceased again, what had begun as a small group enlarged to sometimes two to three thousand participants.[3]

In order to fill the people of Rome with new ardor and to re-evangelize the city, Philip Neri began in the most direct way possible, making acquaintances on street corners and in the public squares, where people were inclined to loiter. He would often ask them, "Well, brothers, when shall we begin to do good?”[4] Losing no time in converting good intentions into action, he would take them to wait on the sick in the hospitals or to pray the Seven Churches, one of Philip's own favorite devotions. While originally established for Holy Thursday night, Philip Neri would pray this devotion on a regular basis throughout the year.

Philip drew up an itinerary that included visits first to St. Peter’s Basilica, then St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, St. Sebastian’s, St. John Lateran, Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem, St. Lawrence-Outside-the Walls and finally St. Mary Major. At each church, there would be prayer, a hymn sung, and a sermon by St. Philip.[5]

The Pilgrimage of the Seven Churches begun by St. Philip has endured since the sixteenth century. Even today, pilgrims to Rome can follow the path laid out by the “Apostle to Rome.” In fact, this tradition is still practiced by Catholics around the world: including in Poland, Mexico, Italy, Spain, the Philippines, and even in some places within the U.S.

Buses Bring Thousands throughout Chicago on the Seven Churches Visitation

This Seven Churches Visitation is an important tradition in the life and history of the Church. The Church is filled with devotions and traditions that have unfortunately become forgotten. However, this particular devotion has experienced a revival in many large cities throughout the United States (as well as the rest of the world). Started in order to counter the revelry of urban cities at night, the solemnity that it brings to Holy Thursday night is unmatched. Catholics are able today to experience and continue this beautiful custom that has been handed on to us for over 400 years. It not only stresses the importance of this night, but it gives the faithful an opportunity to accompany our Lord through His bitter passion. 

For those who live in an urban area with several Catholic churches nearby, you may want to visit seven different churches. However, those who live in a rural area can still take part in the tradition by praying all seven stations and spend time in adoration with our Lord throughout the night. 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.

“And it was night.” (John 13:30) There is something special about visiting churches late into the night; walking throughout the streets in the darkness along with hundreds of other Catholics. The cities become alive with the faithful mixed with the noise of an unconcerned world around them. This night is much like that original Holy Thursday night as Christ’s followers ran throughout the streets of Jerusalem among the crowds of a city concerned with their own affairs.[6] Let us not spend this night like any other night. Instead, let us take to the streets to visit our Lord as He undergoes His salvific work for our sake.

  

[1] Parsch, Pius “The Church’s Year of Grace,” The Liturgical Press, (Minnesota, 1953), 328.

[2] Capecelatro, Alfonso “The Life of Saint Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome,” Volume 1, Burns and Oats, (London, 1894), 109.

[3] The Pontifical Congregation of the Oratory, “St. Philip Neri’s Picnics,” (Brooklyn, 2015) at http://brooklynoratory.org/st-philip-neri/.

[4] Capecelatro, Alfonso, “The Life of Saint Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome,” 110. 

[5] Capecelatro, Alfonso “The Life of Saint Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome,” 112. 

[6] Parsch, Pius “The Church’s Year of Grace,” 328.