Visita Iglesia

If you are a pious Roman Catholic,  the Visita Iglesia or the Seven Churches Visitation during the lenten season is one of the traditions that you look forward to. Traditionally, the seven churches visitation is done on Maundy Thursday after the Mass of the Last Supper. The main altar and most side altars are stripped, the crosses removed or covered. The Blessed Sacrament is then placed in a Tabernacle on the Altar of Repose so that the faithful can pray before it. It is usually a time for silent adoration.

In the Philippines, the general practice is to visit seven or fourteen churches on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. The faithful however may also perform this during the Holy Week or Kuwaresma. The more pious would bring a cross to these churches. People walk or take a ride from one church to the next depending on its proximity, and one or two stations of the cross are recited at each church. Most of the Churches are usually open until midnight to accommodate the faithful. Offerings are also made at each church as a form of almsgiving to the poor.