March 29, 2026
(Photo by St. Joseph's Parish)
The Visita Iglesia, or "Church Visitation" in Spanish and Tagalog, has its origins in Rome. Catholics traditionally visit the seven Great Basilicas following the Celebration of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. During this time, the Holy Eucharist is placed in an Altar of Repose outside the Church, allowing the faithful to spend moments in prayer and meditation with the Lord.
Over the years, this beautiful tradition has spread throughout Christendom, inviting the faithful to visit nearby churches to pray or participate in the Way of the Cross, with each Church serving as a station along the journey. For those seeking a simpler observance, a vigil in a church where the Holy Eucharist is reposed can also be a meaningful experience.
When engaging in the Visita Iglesia, the number of churches one visits is less important than the spirit behind the devotion. Ultimately, it is about being in communion with Jesus, sharing in His passion, and accompanying Him in his final hours.
During Holy Week, several parishes across Surrey, Delta, South Surrey, White Rock, and Langley actively participate in the Visita Iglesia. These parishes typically remain open until midnight on Holy Thursday, allowing for a Vigil in front of the Altar of Repose. On Good Friday, they are usually open all day.
Here is a proposed journey, starting from our home parish, Our Lady of Good Counsel (OLGC). This itinerary offers an opportunity to engage deeply in this meaningful tradition after attending a service on either Holy Thursday or Good Friday.
Make the Sign of the Cross:
In the name of the Father,
And of the Son,
And of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
All genuflect.
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: For by your sacred passion, you have redeemed the world.
All rise.
Reader: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew (26:36-44).
Then, Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” And going on a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.”
Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, he went away for the second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” Again, he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words.
Reader: The Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, O Lord Jesus Christ.
Leader: Almighty, ever-living God, you have given the human race Jesus Christ our Saviour as a model of humility. He fulfilled your will by becoming man and giving his life on the cross. Help us to bear witness to you by following his example of suffering and make us worthy to share his resurrection. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Head to the next church, praying one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
All genuflect.
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: For by your sacred passion, you have redeemed the world.
All rise.
Reader: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John (17:1-5).
After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.”
Reader: The Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, O Lord Jesus Christ.
Leader: All-powerful God, by the suffering and death of your Son, strengthen and protect us in our weakness. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Head to the next church, praying one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
All genuflect.
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: For by your sacred passion, you have redeemed the world.
All rise.
Reader: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John (17:11-13, 20-21).
“Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves...”
“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
Reader: The Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, O Lord Jesus Christ.
Leader: Father, may we receive your forgiveness and mercy as we celebrate the passion and death of the Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
All: Amen.
Head to the next church, praying one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
All genuflect.
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: For by your sacred passion, you have redeemed the world.
All rise.
Reader: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew (26:47-56).
While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.” At once, he came up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you are here to do.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.
Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?”
At that hour, Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day, I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Reader: The Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, O Lord Jesus Christ.
Leader: Father, in your plan of salvation, your Son Jesus Christ accepted the cross and freed us from the power of the enemy. May we come to share the glory of his resurrection, for he lives with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
All: Amen.
Head to the next church, praying one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
All genuflect.
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: For by your sacred passion, you have redeemed the world.
All rise.
Reader: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew (26:57-68).
Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. But Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end.
Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’” The high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” But Jesus was silent.
Then the high priest said to him, “I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you,
From now on, you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of Power
and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Then, the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?” They answered, “He deserves death.” Then, they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?”
Reader: The Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, O Lord Jesus Christ.
Leader: God of infinite compassion, to love you is to be made holy; fill our hearts with your love. By the death of your son, you have given us hope, born of faith, by his rising again. Fulfill this hope of heaven where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
All: Amen.
Head to the next church, praying one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
All genuflect.
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: For by your sacred passion, you have redeemed the world.
All rise.
Reader: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew (26:69-75).
Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before all of them, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” Again, he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.” After a little while, the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath: “I do not know the man!” At that moment, the cock crowed. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
Reader: The Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, O Lord Jesus Christ.
Leader: Father, look with love upon your people, the love he delivered himself to evil people and suffered the agony of the cross, for he lives with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
All: Amen.
Head to the next church, praying one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
All genuflect.
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: For by your sacred passion, you have redeemed the world.
All rise.
Reader: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke (22:63-71).
Now the men who were holding Jesus began to mock him and beat him; they also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” They kept heaping many other insults on him.
When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council. They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” He replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I question you, you will not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” All of them asked, “Are you, then, the Son of God?” He said to them, “You say that I am.” Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!”
Reader: The Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, O Lord Jesus Christ.
Leader: All-powerful and ever-living God, your only Son went down among the dead and rose again in glory. In your goodness, raise us up your faithful people, buried with him in baptism, to be one with him in baptism, to be one with him in the eternal life of heaven, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
All: Amen.
Go ahead home, praying one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
All kneel.
Leader:
O, good and dearest Jesus,
All:
I kneel before your face.
With all my heart, I ask you
To place in my heart more faith, hope, and charity.
Give me a true sorrow for my sins
And a strong will to do better
With great sorrow and grief
I look upon your five woulds and think about them.
Before my eyes are the words
That the prophet David said of you, O good Jesus:
“They have pierced my hands and feet
They have numbered all my bones.”
Amen.
Optional Conclusion:
Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.
Leader:
May the Lord bless us,
Protect us from all evil,
And bring us to life everlasting.
All: Amen.
Make the Sign of the Cross:
In the name of the Father,
And of the Son,
And of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
All rise. At home, you can continue your observances and practices for Holy Thursday and Good Friday.