Holy Thursday 2019 ~ A Williamsburg family visiting St. Elizabeth on Pilgrimage ~ Photo by Janet Stern

When Janet Stern arrived at St. E's Thursday morning to open the church, she found this Williamsburg family, just arrived, who were on a pilgrimage to Richmond to visit seven Catholic churches on Holy Thursday.  They were observing an ancient Catholic tradition described below.

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"The tradition of visiting seven churches on Holy Thursday probably originated in Rome, as early pilgrims visited the seven basilicas as penance.

The Via Francigena was an ancient pilgrim route between England and Rome.  It was customary to end the pilgrimage with a visit to the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul.

In 1300, Pope Boniface VIII declared the first Holy Year, granting a special indulgence to those, who meeting the requisite conditions, visited St. Peter's Basilica and the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.  Over time the number of prescribed churches increased to seven.

The tradition of visiting all seven churches was started by Saint Pilip Neri around 1553.  He and a few friends would gather before dawn and set out on their "Seven Churches Walk.

These pilgrimages were designed to be a counterpoint to the raucous behavior of
Carnival.  The Walks became very popular and began to attract others." *


* Wikipedia