Dear Friends in Christ,

Welcome to the first Sunday of Lent! As we begin this holy season, we are reminded of our need for renewal in our relationship to God through works of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. In this weekend’s Gospel, we encounter Jesus in the desert where he prepares himself for his public ministry through fasting and prayer while being tempted three times by Satan. This episode of the Gospels is a vivid reminder of ways that our own Faith is tested, and how we are able to combat temptation through prayer, especially with Sacred Scripture. I pray that this holy season of Lent will be fruitful for all of you as you grow closer to Jesus daily.

During this holy season, I wish to share a series of letters that focuses our attention on a tradition that is practiced in Rome throughout the season of Lent. I am referring to the tradition of the Station Church Pilgrimages that are done by many of the faithful in the city of Rome. This tradition involves visiting a different Church in Rome on each day of Lent, and celebrating the Mass at the tombs of the Saints who are buried throughout the city. Why is this tradition important for us? I am glad you asked.

First, the tradition of visiting the tombs of the Saints goes all the way back to the time of the Christian persecutions in Rome. After countless martyrs were brutally killed in the arenas of Rome, their bodies would be buried by the remaining Christians who would then visit them secretly in or-der to offer prayers to obtain favors. Even around the tomb of St. Peter under the Vatican, there is evidence of Christians who would visit his tomb in times of great need. For Roman Christians, the tombs of the Saints were important pilgrimage sites.

When Christianity became legal in the year 324, Christians began openly celebrating the Mass at the tombs of the Saints. Often, the Pope would gather with many of his brother priests and the faithful of Rome to celebrate Mass at a different Saint’s tomb for each day of the season of Lent. The Pope and his priests would begin a procession from one church in Rome, called in Latin, collecta, and walk to another church, called the statio, with many of the faithful lining the streets, singing the Litany of the Saints. When the Pope arrived at the statio, he would celebrate Mass alongside his priests, deacons, and sub-deacons, who would then distribute the Eucharist to the other churches in Rome. In this way, the Pope would visit a different Church in Rome throughout the season of Lent.

On this First Sunday of Lent, the Station Church is the Basilica of St. John Lateran. If you recall, we briefly explored this basilica in our bulletin letter from November 2024, but today I wish to share with you a little more about this important basilica. Not only is this the oldest established church in Rome, but it also holds some important relics from the life of Jesus. In the south transept of the Basilica, one can find the relic of the Last Supper table that was used the night before Jesus’s Passion. On the opposite transept, one is able to see the Pope’s throne, or cathedra, from where he would traditionally reign over the Diocese of Rome.

As we make our way through Lent, I encourage all of us to make this spiritual pilgrimage to these Station Churches. Not all of us are able to travel to Rome, but all of us can inwardly make the effort to place ourselves in the Communion of Saints. Our goal is to be like them in Heaven. Let’s practice being a Saint right now on Earth.

May Christ’s Peace be with you, Fr. Briggs