Holy thursday and visiting 7 churches
On Holy Thursday, we remember the Last Supper when Jesus instituted the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. At the end of Holy Thursday Mass, the Eucharist is placed at a special "altar of repose". The altar of repose is a temporary altar located away from the main sanctuary of the church. Usually at the end of Mass, the faithful process to the altar of repose and spend time with the Eucharist in quiet prayer and adoration. At Notre Dame, when Holy Thursday Mass ends, the congregation processes downstairs to the Church Hall where the special "altar of repose" is set up for the faithful to spend time with the Lord in the Eucharist.
The Seven Churches Visitation is a tradition where Catholics visit seven churches and spend time in prayer and adoration. During Jesus time in the garden, he asked his disciples to stay with him and that is why we spend Holy Thursday night with Jesus. The seven different churches correspond with the seven stations that were made by Jesus between the Last Supper and his death on the cross. The seven stations consist of: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus bound and taken before Annas, Jesus taken before the high priest Caiaphas, Jesus taken before Pilate, Jesus taken before Herod, Jesus taken before Pilate again and Jesus given the crown of thorns and led to the crucifixion.
At each Church, the faithful visit the altar of repose, kneel and read Scripture and/or pray before the Eucharist. It is a time to spend with Jesus and think about what he sacrificed for us and his sufferings leading up to the crucifixion. The tradition of visiting the seven churches can be traced back to the Station Churches of Rome, where the tradition still continues today.
This year we cannot visit churches in person so below are some options to continue this devotion on Holy Thursday. The first option is a link to a video series about the Station Churches in Rome. The series visits one of the Station Churches each day of Lent. Please click here or on the map below to visit the Station Churches of Rome.
The second option is to take a virtual tour of the 7 churches listed below. Each church allows you to take a visit inside and spend some quiet time in prayer.