Make a Virtual Visit to 7 Churches #StayHome

Many Catholics around the world visit seven churches after Mass on Holy Thursday. This year we have a unique opportunity to travel much farther virtually, accompanying Jesus through spiritual visits to churches around the world.

The tradition of visiting 7 churches the evening of Holy Thursday was born in the 16th century, when St. Philip Neri invited his friends to make a walking pilgrimage to the 7 pilgrim churches of Rome. The practice spread: today, many Catholics around the world visit 7 churches after Mass on Holy Thursday, praying and watching with our Lord the night before His Passion, as He asked His disciples to do in the garden of Gethsemane.

While in many parts of the world it is not possible to visit churches in person at the moment, this year we have a unique opportunity to travel much farther virtually, accompanying Jesus through spiritual visits to churches around the world. We've picked out a few from different continents, but of course it's up to you to explore. St. Josemaría used to like to visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament even with just his imagination. What better time is there for such a thing than tonight?

Download the Virtual Pilgrimage as a PDF

"My Lord and my God, under the loving eyes of our Mother, we are making ready to accompany you along this path of sorrow, which was the price for our redemption. We wish to suffer all that You suffered, to offer you our poor, contrite hearts, because you are innocent, and yet you are going to die for us, who are the only really guilty ones. My Mother, Virgin of sorrows, help me to relive those bitter hours which your Son wished to spend on earth, so that we, who were made from a handful of clay, may finally live in libertatem gloriae filiorum Dei, in the freedom and glory of the children of God." - St. Josemaria Escriva, Introduction to The Way of the Cross

#1. Pray at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Israel

#2. Pray at the Church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome, Italy

#3. Pray at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France

#4. Pray at the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Amoussoukro, Ivory Coast

#5. Pray at St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, Australia

#6. Pray at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City

#7. Pray at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., USA

Note: In the interactive PDF, you can click on the names of the churches to access the virtual tours. In this article, just scroll up to access the same links.