The Seven Churches of Rome: route, order and a walking plan

By Andrew McGilly, Founder of Bold Pilgrim · Updated 2026-10-05
Research draft · Human editorial review pending

The traditional order, as the Holy See's own list gives it, is St. Peter's, St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. Sebastian on the Via Appia, St. John Lateran, Holy Cross in Jerusalem, St. Lawrence Outside the Walls and St. Mary Major. Walked in that order it is a loop of roughly 25 km (about 15 miles) in one long day, with the three suburban basilicas in the morning and the three near Termini in the afternoon.

Start at St. Peter's when it opens at 7:00 a.m., before the security line builds. From there most walkers take Metro B to Basilica San Paolo rather than the 5 km of busy road; the basilica is open 7:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., free, with Mass at 7:00, 10:00 and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. From St. Paul's the Via delle Sette Chiese, named for this pilgrimage, runs east past the Domitilla catacombs to St. Sebastian; the basilica above the catacombs keeps the catacomb hours, Tuesday to Sunday 9:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., closed Monday, so avoid Monday for this leg.

From St. Sebastian the bus 118 or a walk up the Appia and Via di Porta San Sebastiano brings you to St. John Lateran, then it is under 1 km to Holy Cross in Jerusalem with the relics of the Passion, about 2 km north to St. Lawrence beside the Verano cemetery, and a final 1.5 km to St. Mary Major. The Lateran and St. Mary Major stay open into the evening, so they can absorb a late finish.

The devotion is the stations, not the pace: a short prayer or the Creed and Our Father in each church, with Mass and confession fitted in at one of them. Two-day versions split after St. Sebastian. The history and the Divine Love substitution are on what-is-the-seven-churches-pilgrimage-in-rome.

The Seven Churches of Rome: route, order and a walking plan

Related questions