I know it is a little early to start talking about and planning for Holy Thursday 2027; however, as the late-Msgr. William O’Connell would say, “Strike when the spirit is hot!” This past Holy Week, I was asked about the Catholic tradition of the Seven Churches Visitation during OCIA at St. Carlo Acutis Student Center on the campus of South Dakota Mines. To be honest, I believe it was the first time I had ever really heard about this beautiful tradition of visiting seven different churches to pray before the Altar of Repose on Holy Thursday.

The more I prayed about the idea during Holy Week, the more I felt called to “strike when the spirit is hot.” I learned that this tradition dates back to the time of Saint Philip Neri in the 16th century. The story goes that St. Philip Neri would gather with a few friends and set out on foot to visit and pray at the four major basilicas — St. Peter’s in the Vatican, St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. John Lateran, and St. Mary Major — along with three smaller churches: St. Sebastian Outside the Walls, Holy Cross in Jerusalem, and St. Lawrence Outside the Walls.

This pilgrimage that St. Philip Neri would embark upon every Holy Thursday stretched over 15-plus miles. Amazing! What an incredible and prayerful experience this must have been for St. Philip Neri and his companions. At each church, they would pray, sing a hymn, and offer a short reflection. Over time, this simple initiative became a living Roman tradition.

Wanting to be obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in my own heart, I pitched the idea to the community at St. Carlo’s about making a holy pilgrimage to seven Chapels of Repose on Holy Thursday, just like St. Philip Neri. Following those promptings, about 25 of us set out from St. Carlo’s after the Holy Thursday-Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper — not on foot, but in cars.

It was amazing as we raced from Chapel of Repose to Chapel of Repose, hoping to make it before the churches closed. From St. Carlo to Our Lady of the Black Hills in Piedmont, to Blessed Sacrament, to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, to St. Isaac Jogues, to St. Therese, and finally ending at Immaculate Conception Church.

Finishing shortly after midnight and covering countless miles across the Black Hills, it was a wonderful pilgrimage — one that I will remember for a very long time. So mark your calendars now for the Seven Churches Visitation next Holy Thursday, March 25, 2027. Who’s in?