The Order of the Most Holy Savior of St. Bridget, also known as the Bridgettines, invited the faithful to join for the first annual St. Bridget’s 7 Church Pilgrimage in Columbus on Saturday, July 26.
Approximately 40 individuals joined the Bridgettine Sisters, six of whom live at the Columbus convent, for a walk that included stops at seven historic Catholic churches in the city totaling approximately six miles.
“We are so blessed to be right here in downtown Columbus with the Bridgettines, and we have seven churches in walking distance, and a pilgrimage, as Mother Eunice says, shouldn’t be easy. It should be an offering. So, we decided a hot summer July day, three days after St. Bridget’s feast day (on July 23), to do this in honor of her,” said Jody White, a friend and volunteer with the Bridgettine Sisters.
The Bridgettine Order was founded by St. Bridget of Sweden in the 1300s. The Bridgettine spirituality is rooted in a deep love of Christ, especially in remembrance of His sufferings.
Pilgrims gathered early Saturday morning outside of the Bridgettine convent in Columbus, located west of downtown. After opening prayers, the pilgrims set out for their first destination: Columbus Holy Family Church.
The Bridgettine Convent, 40 N. Grubb Street, is located adjacent to Holy Family.
Faithful spent time praying inside each church on the journey, reflecting on Christ’s Passion with prayers and readings from Sacred Scripture. Father Stash Dailey, pastor at Worthington St. Michael the Archangel Church, led pilgrims in prayerful reflection at each stop.
While walking to the seven churches, pilgrims prayed the Bridgettine rosary, which includes six decades instead of five. The Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries each contain an additional mystery of the rosary.
Participants also reflected on the seven sorrows of Mary during the pilgrimage.
“We hope more people learn about the sorrows of Mary and how she truly walked in suffering, but she did it for our Lord. She trusted in God’s divine will,” White said.
Glenn and Karen Ruffner made the trip from New Jersey for the pilgrimage. Their daughter, Sister Jose Mary, 27, an Ohio State University graduate and Bridgettine sister in Columbus, professed her first vows with the order last year.
Sister Jose Mary invited her parents to Columbus for the seven-church pilgrimage. Rain or shine, Karen said, they would be there.
“It fills me with gratitude because God is so good,” she said. “He’s taken me on a journey, and this is symbolic of that.”
She described having a daughter in consecrated religious life as a constant surrender.
“Part of the path that we all have to be on is to surrender to God’s will, and so, it’s a joyful surrender, and for me, it’s so exciting because I know my daughter really well, and it’s like, look out world, because she is a dynamo,” Karen said. “So, God has a plan. It’s a good one.”
After praying inside Holy Family Church and meditating on Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, pilgrims set off to the second church of the day, Columbus St. Francis of Assisi. Pilgrims spent time praying in the church, located near Columbus’ Victorian Village neighborhood, and reflecting on Jesus being bound and taken before Annas.
The pilgrimage then continued east to Columbus Sacred Heart Church followed by Columbus St. John the Baptist Church in the Italian Village neighborhood. The faithful reflected on Jesus being taken before the high priest Caiaphas and then summoned by Pontius Pilate.
Father Vince Nguyen, pastor of Sacred Heart and St. John the Baptist churches, was present to greet pilgrims, welcome them to the churches and distribute water.
The pilgrimage then headed south into downtown for the fifth church visit at Columbus St. Patrick Church. Faithful prayed, read Scripture and reflected on Jesus being taken before Herod.
At St. Patrick Church, pastor Father Paul Marich, O.P. (Order of Preachers) welcomed the group. Pilgrims had an opportunity to venerate a relic of St. Margaret of Castello, which was on display and is housed in the church.
In 2021, a diocesan shrine of St. Margaret was established at St. Patrick. The church is staffed by Dominican friars. St. Margaret was a member of the Dominican Third Order of Castello, through which she developed a deep prayer life and devoted her 33-year life to performing acts of penance and charity.
After spending time in prayer before the relic of St. Margaret of Castello, pilgrims continued to Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral, the sixth church on the route. They prayed at the mother church of the diocese, reflecting on Jesus being taken before Pilate again.
Damion Faulkner, a special education tutor at Columbus Bishop Watterson High School, joined the pilgrimage. He volunteers at the Bridgettine convent, helping with gardening and pulling weeds on the convent grounds. He also spends time praying in the sisters’ Adoration chapel.
“There’s something that draws me to spend time with them, when I can, because I can feel the presence of God and just a peacefulness,” he explained.
“Every time I’ve been with them there’s just always a peace and a joy to them, like you can hear it when they sing Ave Maris Stella. There’s just something that is attractive about that.”
Faulkner said he also appreciates the Bridgettines’ structure. He finds it resonates with his desire for a daily structure of prayer and work.
“Sometimes I just find myself going in too many different directions, and this, maybe, is like an opportunity to refocus and come back to God and what’s important,” he said.
The pilgrimage made its seventh and final stop at Columbus Holy Cross Church, the first Catholic church in Columbus and the oldest church in the city.
At the final church destination in Columbus, pilgrims meditated on Jesus being given the crown of thorns. They offered a closing prayer and the Divine Praises.
The pilgrimage concluded with an 11:30 a.m. Mass, which is regularly held at Holy Cross on Saturday mornings. The Mass was celebrated by Father Jan Sullivan, rector of St. Joseph Cathedral and Holy Cross Church.
The Mass celebrated the feast of Ss. Anne and Joachim, the grandparents of Jesus and parents of Mary, whose feast day is July 26. St. Anne is the co-patroness of the diocese. A relic of St. Anne and holy oil from the St. Anne shrine in Quebec, Canada, were available for blessings and veneration.
Confession and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament followed Mass at Holy Cross Church. Pilgrims then returned to the Convent of St. Birgitta.
Faithful are invited to join the sisters at the convent for daily Mass and Adoration offered 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The Bridgettine Sisters’ primary charism is unity among all Christians. They live a simple monastic lifestyle through prayer and hospitality.
“Our Lord wanted us to be under one flock, and I’ve seen it happen within my own family, the interaction with the sisters, with their counsel, with their wisdom, that they meet with folks, that they’re truly bringing those lukewarm back with zeal and knowing that there’s something deeper,” White said. “It’s been beautiful to see.”
The Bridgettines are currently renovating their Columbus convent. The construction project includes improvements and enhancements to the existing building.
An additional stage includes constructing a permanent Adoration chapel, a library and community room, two parking areas for guests and visitors, completion of an outdoor courtyard and eight guest suites.
“We’re just still in the beginning stages for the huge capital campaign,” White said. “We are humbly asking people for their financial support in addition to their prayers, and even though the chapel is not built yet, or the guest house … this one hopefully will house those families who the loved ones are in the local hospitals.
“They’ll have the holy church here, the sisters with their hospitality taking care of them in the guest rooms, which will be absolutely beautiful.”
The Bridgettine Sisters are present in 19 countries. Two convents are established in the United States: Columbus and Darien, Connecticut. The order’s motherhouse is located in Rome in the former dwelling of St. Bridget of Sweden.