Visita Iglesia in UK: The Friars, birthplace of the Brown Scapular

KENT, United Kingdom — From Maundy Thursday to Good Friday, the Visita Iglesia (literally meaning “visit church” in Spanish) has been a well-known Holy Week tradition among Catholic Filipinos. 

The Visita Iglesia is a pilgrimage tour of at least seven churches to remember Jesus Christ’s suffering and death by praying to the 14 Stations of the Cross. 

In England, one of the most popular pilgrimage sites is Aylesford Priory or “The Friars,” founded in 1242 when the Carmelite Order came to England from Holy Land’s Mount Carmel. 

Among The Friars’ highlights is the relic of St. Simon Stock, the 13th century English Catholic priest to whom the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared to give the Carmelite habit, the Brown Scapular.

Copies of the original Brown Scapular can be bought from an adjacent souvenir shop for a very minimal fee. The Friars and its open chapel and surrounding houses for priests are by themselves “Instagrammable” with strong Middle Ages “feels.”