Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome

Among the seven pilgrim churches means those churches of the city of Rome, whose visit to pilgrims traveling to the city plays a special role. You can be reached within a day on foot, the pilgrims are indulgences for this trip promised.

Until 2000, these were the four Roman Basilicae maiores and three Basilicae minores:

• San Pietro in Vaticano ( St. Peter's )
• San Paolo fuori le Mura,
• San Sebastiano fuori le mura,
• San Giovanni in Laterano,
• Santa Croce in Gerusalemme,
• San Lorenzo fuori le mura and
• Santa Maria Maggiore.

Instead of San Sebastiano fuori le mura was included among the seven saints in 2000 by Pope John Paul II, the Santuario della Madonna del Divino Amore.

The order of the visits was not prescribed, but the above was due to the location of the churches the most common. When visiting the seven churches Rompilgerführer were used.

After this tradition had been neglected more and more over the years, they revived the St. Philip Neri in the 16th century again. This is the task had been prescribed to renew religious life in Rome. He invited several times a year, especially during Carnival and Easter, the population of Rome and the pilgrimage to the Eternal City to participate on his pilgrimage to the seven principal churches of the city. First, he was succeeded by the common people, while he also won nobles and high clergy for his cause later.

A representation of the seven churches in the painting depicts the so-called Basilica cycle for the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Augsburg created in the years 1499-1504 and contains symbolic pictures of the churches.