As Holy Thursday evening Masses concluded throughout the Arlington diocese April 17, Catholics quietly sojourned to seven churches, visiting Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for the Seven Churches Pilgrimage.
Some 45 churches participated in one or more of seven routes in Sterling, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Manassas, Tysons and Fredericksburg, according to the website of the diocesan Office of Youth, Campus and Young Adult Ministries, which organized the annual event.
At the conclusion of Holy Thursday Mass, priests carried the Eucharist from the church’s tabernacle to an “altar of repose,” where it remained until midnight. The churches’ tabernacles stayed empty until the Easter Vigil Mass.
The Seven Churches Pilgrimage was introduced by St. Philip Neri in Rome in the mid-16th century as a penitential alternative to local festivals. The tradition continued throughout the centuries, with more than 6,000 pilgrims at one point during the pontificate of Pope Pius IV.
As parishioners traveled from church to church, praying before Jesus, they commemorated his suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he petitioned the apostles who followed him, “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me.” (Mt 26:38) Parishioners from St. Charles Borromeo Church in Arlington even walked the Arlington route.
The diocese published downloadable booklets with meditations for teens, adults and parents with young children participating in the pilgrimage.
Find out more
Go to arlingtondiocese.org/young-adult-ministry/7-churches-pilgrimage/.
