The night of Holy Thursday, after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the Blessed Sacrament is placed not in the tabernacle but in an altar of repose. A lamp or candle is kept burning alongside.
There, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament invites the faithful to remain in prayer. From this moment comes the traditional “Seven Churches Visitation.”
This devotion began with St. Philip Neri in 16th-century Rome, who led people in pilgrimages to the seven basilicas of Rome to pray before the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday nights. It should be noted that the focus is not on the number of churches, but on meaningful time with the Lord.
Today visits symbolize accompanying Christ from the Last Supper through His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and toward His Passion. Seven Scripture passages are associated with moments in Christ’s Passion:
– Luke 22:39-46;
– John 18:19-22;
– Matthew 26:63-65;
– John 18:35-37;
– Luke 23:8-9,11;
– Matthew 27:22-26; and
– Matthew 27:27-31.
At each stop, the faithful spend time in quiet prayer, offering gratitude for the Eucharist and responding to Jesus’ invitation to “keep watch.” This tradition can be lived personally, with friends, as a family or small parishioner-pilgrimage, becoming a simple journey of prayer that deepens love for Christ in the Eucharist.
“On this sacred night, we remember the Last Supper, when Jesus gave us the gift of the Eucharist and invited us into deeper communion with Him,” says Father Jhonatan Sarmiento, pastor of St. James Parish, Rockford. “Like the Apostles, we are called to remain with the Lord —watching, praying, and resting in His presence.”
St. James, Rockford, invites you to pray:
Prayer at the Altar of Repose begins April 2 after the 7 p.m. Mass of the Lord’s Supper at St. James Parish, 428 N. Second St.
