The Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, marking the beginning of the Paschal Triduum, concludes with a procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the altar of repose.

Catholics pause in silent adoration, remaining and keeping watch as Jesus requested his disciples to do during his night of prayer in the garden, before his death and resurrection.

For some participants in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and around the world, this after-Mass time begins a unique evening pilgrimage that involves stopping and praying at a number of churches. And a Google map developed by Joe Clarke of St. Paul in Ham Lake features more than 50 parishes in the archdiocese Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis that welcome the faithful during that sacred time.

Clarke, an engineer and father of six created the user-friendly map as a nod to the Seven Churches Visitation, a traditional Holy Thursday devotion started and still practiced in Rome.

Clarke researches parish websites and bulletins for up-to-date information for the map, a tool people can use to design their own pilgrimage route.

“Churches are grouped and color-coded by closing time, and the map includes notes about whether there are special night prayer offerings or sung vespers,” he said.

“My goal was to take the work I was already doing in planning my family’s pilgrimage and make it easier for others to try.”

Clarke learned about the Seven Churches Visitation from Father Francis Hoffman, affectionately known as Father Rocky, the executive director and CEO of Wisconsin-based Relevant Radio.

“Father Rocky spoke about his family participating in the tradition while growing up in Chicago, which included a banana split at the end before midnight and the start of Good Friday,” Clarke said.

“I was immediately intrigued because I love exploring beautiful churches, and I knew the treat at the end would be ‘inspiring’ for my kids,” he said.”

Clarke and his family have participated in the Seven Churches tradition for many years.

“We’ve told the kids to ‘make it their own’ and suggested options, including praying a couple of Stations of the Cross at each church, saying prayers for a different friend or family member at each stop, or sitting quietly with the Lord,” he said.

WHAT IS THE SEVEN CHURCHES VISITATION?

St. Philip Neri is credited with the origin of the custom, which dates back to the 16th century. During the pilgrimage, which is also referred to as the Seven Station Churches Visitation, he and his followers visited the four major basilicas of Rome, plus the three significant minor basilicas.

John Boyle, a Catholic Studies and theology professor and chair of Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, said that in modern Rome, people can now visit dozens of churches on Holy Thursday evening.

“People travel from church to church and the atmosphere is lively, vibrant and festive,” he said. “It’s a beautiful recognition of the reality of the Blessed Sacrament and our Lord in repose.”