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The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitations of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, which is a traditional processional route symbolising the actual path Jesus walked to
Mount Calvary Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem in Christianity, Jerusalem's walls where Jesus in Christianity, Jesus was said to have been crucifixion of Jesus, cruci ...
. The objective of the stations is to help the Christian faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Passion of Christ. It has become one of the most popular devotions and the stations can be found in many Western Christian churches, including those in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran,
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
, and Methodist traditions. Commonly, a series of 14 images will be arranged in numbered order along a path, along which worshippers—individually or in a procession—move in order, stopping at each station to say prayers and engage in reflections associated with that station. These devotions are most common during
Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
, especially on
Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...
, and reflect a spirit of reparation for the sufferings and insults that Jesus endured during his passion. As a physical devotion involving standing, kneeling and genuflections, the Stations of the Cross are tied with the Christian themes of
repentance Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...
and
mortification of the flesh Mortification of the flesh is an act by which an individual or group seeks to mortify or deaden their sinful nature, as a part of the process of sanctification. In Christianity, mortification of the flesh is undertaken in order to repent for s ...
. The style, form, and placement of the stations vary widely. The typical stations are small plaques with reliefs or paintings placed around a church nave. Modern minimalist stations can be simple crosses with a numeral in the centre. Occasionally the faithful might say the stations of the cross without there being any image, such as when the pope leads the stations of the cross around the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday.


History

The Stations of the Cross originated in pilgrimage to Jerusalem and a desire to reproduce the Via Dolorosa. Imitating holy places was not a new concept. For example, the religious complex of
Santo Stefano Santo Stefano is the Italian name of Saint Stephen. Santo Stefano may also refer to: Places Islands *Santo Stefano (island), an island in Sardinia, Italy *Santo Stefano Island, an island in the Pontine Islands, Italy Cities, towns and villages i ...
in Bologna, Italy, replicated the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...
and other religious sites, including the Mount of Olives and the Valley of Josaphat. Following the siege of 1187, Jerusalem fell to the forces of Saladin, the first sultan of Egypt and Syria. Forty years later, members of the Franciscan religious order were allowed back into the
Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
. Their founder, Saint
Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...
, held the Passion of Christ in special veneration and is said to have been the first person to receive stigmata. In 1217, St. Francis also founded the Custody of the Holy Land to guard and promote the devotion to Christian holy places. The Franciscans' efforts were recognized when Pope Clement VI officially proclaimed them the custodians of holy places in 1342. Although several travelers who visited the Holy Land during the 12–14th centuries (e.g.
Riccoldo da Monte di Croce Riccoldo da Monte di Croce (Florence; 1320) or Ricold of Monte Croce ( la, Ricoldus de Monte Crucis) was an Italian Dominican friar, travel writer, missionary, and Christian apologist. He is most famous for his polemical works on Medieval Islam a ...
,
Burchard of Mount Sion Burchard of Mount Sion (, also misnamed ''Brocard'' or ''Bocard''; fl. late 13th century), was a German priest, Dominican friar, pilgrim and author probably from Magdeburg in northern Germany, who travelled to the Middle East at the end of the 13t ...
, and James of Verona), mention a "Via Sacra", i.e. a settled route that pilgrims followed, there is nothing in their accounts to identify this with the Way of the Cross, as we understand it. The earliest use of the word "stations", as applied to the accustomed halting-places along the Via Sacra at Jerusalem, occurs in the narrative of an English pilgrim,
William Wey William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, who visited the Holy Land in the mid-15th century and described pilgrims following the footsteps of Christ to
Golgotha Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...
. In 1521, a book called ''Geystlich Strass'' (German: "spiritual road") was printed with illustrations of the stations in the Holy Land. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Franciscans began to build a series of outdoor shrines in Europe to duplicate their counterparts in the Holy Land. The number of stations at these shrines varied between seven and thirty; seven was common. These were usually placed, often in small buildings, along the approach to a church, as in a set of 1490 by
Adam Kraft Adam Kraft (or Krafft) (c. 1460?January 1509) was a German stone sculptor and master builder of the late Gothic period, based in Nuremberg and with a documented career there from 1490. It is not known where Kraft was born and raised; his hand ...
, leading to the Johanniskirche in Nuremberg. Schiller, Gertrud, ''Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. II'', p. 82, 1972 (English trans from German), Lund Humphries, London, A number of rural examples were established as attractions in their own right, usually on attractive wooded hills. These include the Sacro Monte di Domodossola (1657) and
Sacro Monte di Belmonte 350px, View of the sanctuary. The Sacred Mountain of Belmonte (Italian: ''Sacro Monte di Belmonte'') is a Roman Catholic devotional complex in the ''comune'' of Valperga, in the Metropolitan City of Turin (Piedmont, northern Italy). It is one of t ...
(1712), and form part of the
Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy The (plural of , Italian for "Sacred Mountain") of Piedmont and Lombardy are a series of nine calvaries or groups of chapels and other architectural features created in northern Italy during the late sixteenth century and the seventeenth century ...
World Heritage Site, together with other examples on different devotional themes. The sculptures at these sites are very elaborate and often nearly life-size. Remnants of these sites are often referred to as
calvary hill A calvary, also called calvary hill, Sacred Mount, or Sacred Mountain, is a type of Christian sacred place, built on the slopes of a hill, composed by a set of chapels, usually laid out in the form of a pilgrims' way. It is intended to repr ...
s. In 1686, in answer to their petition,
Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI ( la, Innocentius XI; it, Innocenzo XI; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 to his death on August 12, 1689. Poli ...
granted to the Franciscans the right to erect stations within their churches. In 1731,
Pope Clement XII Pope Clement XII ( la, Clemens XII; it, Clemente XII; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the ...
extended to all churches the right to have the stations, provided that a Franciscan father erected them, with the consent of the local bishop. At the same time the number of stations was fixed at fourteen. In 1857, the bishops of England were allowed to erect the stations by themselves, without the intervention of a Franciscan priest, and in 1862 this right was extended to bishops throughout the church.


Stations

The early set of seven scenes was usually numbers 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11 and 14 from the list below. From the late 16th century to the present, the standard complement has consisted of 14 pictures or sculptures depicting the following scenes: # Jesus is condemned to death # Jesus takes up his Cross # Jesus falls for the first time # Jesus meets his Mother # Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the Cross # Veronica wipes the face of Jesus # Jesus falls for the second time # Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem # Jesus falls for the third time # Jesus is stripped of his garments (sometimes called the "Division of Robes") # Jesus is nailed to the Cross # Jesus dies on the Cross # Jesus is taken down from the Cross # Jesus is laid in the tomb Although not traditionally part of the Stations, the Resurrection of Jesus is sometimes included as an unofficial fifteenth station. One very different version, called the Via Lucis ("Way of Light"), comprising the Fourteen ''Stations of Light'' or ''
Stations of the Resurrection The Stations of the Resurrection, also known by the Latin name ''Via Lucis'' (Way of Light), are a form of Christian devotion, encouraging meditation upon the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and some of the Resurrection appearances and other episodes ...
'', starts Jesus rising from the dead and ends with
Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...
.


Scriptural form

Out of the fourteen traditional Stations of the Cross, only eight have a clear scriptural foundation. Station 4 appears out of order from scripture; Jesus's mother is present at the crucifixion but is only mentioned after Jesus is nailed to the cross and before he dies (between stations 11 and 12). The scriptures contain no accounts whatsoever of any woman wiping Jesus's face nor of Jesus falling as stated in Stations 3, 6, 7 and 9. Station 13 (Jesus's body being taken down off the cross and laid in the arms of his mother Mary) differs from the gospels' record, which states that Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus down from the cross and buried him. To provide a version of this devotion more closely aligned with the biblical accounts, Pope John Paul II introduced a new form of devotion, called the
Scriptural Way of the Cross The Scriptural Way of the Cross or Scriptural Stations of the Cross is a modern version of the ancient Christian, especially Catholic, devotion called the Stations of the Cross. This version was inaugurated on Good Friday 1991 by Pope John Paul ...
, on
Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...
1991. He celebrated that form many times but not exclusively at the Colosseum in Italy, using the following sequence (as published by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops): # Jesus prays in the Garden of
Gethsemane Gethsemane () is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus underwent the agony in the garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. It is a place of great resona ...
; # Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested; # Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin; # Jesus is denied by Peter 3 times; # Jesus is judged by Pilate; # Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns; # Jesus takes up his cross; # Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene to carry his cross; # Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem; # Jesus is crucified; # Jesus promises his kingdom to the repentant thief; # Jesus entrusts Mary and John to each other; # Jesus dies on the cross; and # Jesus is laid in the tomb. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI approved this set of stations for meditation and public celebration.


The New Way of the Cross (Philippines)

Another set of Stations are being used by the Catholic Church in the Philippines. Filipinos use this set during '' Visita Iglesia'', which is usually done every Holy Week. # The Last Supper # The Agony in Gethsemane # Jesus Before the Sanhedrin # Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns # Jesus Receives His Cross # Jesus Falls under the weight of the Cross # Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus carry the Cross # Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem # Jesus is nailed to the Cross # The Repentant Thief # Mary and John at the Foot of the Cross # Jesus dies on the Cross # Jesus is laid in His Tomb # Jesus rises from the Dead


Modern usage

In the Roman Catholic Church, the devotion may be conducted personally by the faithful, making their way from one station to another and saying the prayers, or by having an officiating celebrant move from cross to cross while the faithful make the responses. The stations themselves must consist of, at the very least, fourteen wooden crosses—pictures alone do not suffice—and they must be blessed by someone with the authority to erect stations. Pope John Paul II led an annual public prayer of the Stations of the Cross at the Roman Colosseum on Good Friday. Originally, the pope himself carried the cross from station to station, but in his last years when age and infirmity limited his strength, John Paul presided over the celebration from a stage on the
Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...
, while others carried the cross. Just days prior to his death in 2005, Pope John Paul II observed the Stations of the Cross from his private chapel. Each year a different person is invited to write the meditation texts for the Stations. Past composers of the Papal Stations include several non-Catholics. The pope himself wrote the texts for the Great Jubilee in 2000 and used the traditional Stations. The celebration of the Stations of the Cross is especially common on the Fridays of Lent, especially Good Friday. Community celebrations are usually accompanied by various songs and prayers. Particularly common as musical accompaniment is the
Stabat Mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Sabatier, Paul ''Life o ...
. At the end of each station the Adoramus Te is sometimes sung. The Alleluia is also sung, except during Lent. Structurally, Mel Gibson's 2004 film, '' The Passion of the Christ'', follows the Stations of the Cross.


Debates


Place of Christ's resurrection

Some modern liturgists say the traditional Stations of the Cross are incomplete without a final scene depicting the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus because Jesus' rising from the dead was an integral part of his salvific work on Earth. Advocates of the traditional form of the Stations ending with the body of Jesus being placed in the tomb say the Stations are intended as a meditation on the
atoning Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ex ...
death of Jesus, and not as a complete picture of his life, death, and resurrection. Another point of contention, at least between some ranking liturgists and traditionalists, is (the use of) the "New Way of the Cross" being recited exclusively in the Philippines and by Filipinos abroad. The
Stations of the Resurrection The Stations of the Resurrection, also known by the Latin name ''Via Lucis'' (Way of Light), are a form of Christian devotion, encouraging meditation upon the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and some of the Resurrection appearances and other episodes ...
(also known by the Latin name of ''Via Lucis,'' Way of Light) are used in some churches at Eastertide to meditate on the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ.


Music

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
wrote a '' Via Crucis'' for choir, soloists and piano or organ or harmonium in 1879. In 1931, French organist Marcel Dupré improvised and transcribed musical meditations based on fourteen poems by Paul Claudel, one for each station. Peter Maxwell Davies's ''Vesalii Icones'' (1969), for male dancer, solo cello and instrumental ensemble, brings together the Stations of the Cross and a series of drawings from the anatomical treatise ''De humani corporis fabrica'' (1543) by the Belgian physician Andreas van Wesel ( Vesalius). In Davies's sequence, the final "station" represents the Resurrection, but of Antichrist, the composer's moral point being the need to distinguish what is false from what is real. David Bowie regarded his 1976 song " Station to Station" as "very much concerned with the stations of the cross".
Paweł Łukaszewski Paweł Łukaszewski (born 19 September 1968) is a Polish composer of choral music. He has won seven prestigious Fryderyk Awards. According to David Wordsworth, Łukaszewski is the best-known Polish composer of his generation in and out of Pola ...
wrote ''Via Crucis'' in 2000 and it was premiered by the Wrocław Opera on Good Friday March 30, 2018, and transmitted on TVP Kultura.
Stefano Vagnini Stefano Vagnini (born 1963) is an Italian musician, composer, researcher, poet and Modular Art theorist. Biography Stefano Vagnini was born in Fano, Italy. Vagnini studied organ, composition and electronic music at the “ G. Rossini” conser ...
's 2002 modular oratorio, ''Via Crucis'', is a composition for organ, computer, choir, string orchestra and brass quartet. Italian composer
Fabio Mengozzi Fabio Mengozzi (born May 12, 1980, in Asti) is an Italian composer and pianist. Biography Fabio Mengozzi studied piano with Aldo Ciccolini, orchestral conducting and composition, masterclasses with Azio Corghi at the Accademia Nazionale di Sa ...
released his electronic album "Via crucis" in 2022. As the Stations of the Cross are prayed during the season of Lent in Catholic churches, each station is traditionally followed by a verse of the
Stabat Mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Sabatier, Paul ''Life o ...
, composed in the 13th century by Franciscan
Jacopone da Todi Jacopone da Todi, O.F.M. (ca. 1230 – 25 December 1306) was an Italian Franciscan friar from Umbria. He wrote several ''laude'' (songs in praise of the Lord) in the local vernacular. He was an early pioneer in Italian theatre, being one of ...
. James Matthew Wilson's poetic sequence, ''The Stations of the Cross'', is written in the same meter as da Todi's poem.


Literature

Dimitris Lyacos' third part of the Poena Damni trilogy, ''
The First Death ''The First Death'' is a book by Dimitris Lyacos. It is part of the ''Poena Damni'' trilogy. The book tells the story of a marooned man on a desert island in a sequence of fourteen poem sections, recounting his relentless struggle for survival as ...
'', is divided in fourteen sections in order to emphasise the "Via Dolorosa" of its marooned protagonist during his ascent on the mount of the island which constitutes the setting of the work.


Gallery

Theophile Lybaert - Pilate condemns Jesus to die.jpg, 1st Station: Jesus is condemned to death Sculpture at Church of the Condemnation and Imposition of the Cross.JPG, 2nd Station: Jesus takes up his Cross Chapel in 3rd Station (Via Dolorosa).JPG, 3rd Station: Jesus falls for the first time Chapel in 4th Station (Via Dolorosa).JPG, 4th Station: Jesus meets his Mother Chapel in 5th Station (Via Dolorosa).JPG, 5th Station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the Cross Friesach - Dominikanerkirche - Kreuzwegstation6.jpg, 6th Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus 7 Jezus poraz drugi pod krzyzem upada, kolegiata, Lidzbark Warmiński.jpg, 7th Station: Jesus falls for the second time 8 Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem. Church of St. John Nepomucen in Brenna.JPG, 8th Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem Calvary of Karl I of Austria. Station 9. Jesus falls the third time. - Tihany.JPG, 9th Station: Jesus falls for the third time Fr Pfettisheim Chemin de croix station X full.jpg, 10th Station: Jesus is stripped of his garments (sometimes called the "Division of Robes") Holy Sepulchre1.jpg, 11th Station: Jesus is nailed to the Cross Голгофа.jpg, 12th Station: Jesus dies on the cross 13 Jezus z krzyza zdjety, kościół sw Jana Chrzciciela i Michała Archanioła, Lubawa.jpg, 13th Station: Jesus is taken down from the Cross 1-Ademuz-viacrucisEstación XIV (2011).jpg, 14th Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb


See also

*
Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ Catholic tradition includes specific prayers and devotions as '' acts of reparation'' for insults and blasphemies against Jesus Christ and the Holy Name of Jesus. These include the sufferings during the Passion of Jesus. Similar prayers as '' Act ...
* Life of Jesus in the New Testament *
Seven Sorrows of Mary Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...
*
Sayings of Jesus on the cross The sayings of Jesus on the cross (sometimes called the Seven Last Words from the Cross) are seven expressions biblically attributed to Jesus during his crucifixion. Traditionally, the brief sayings have been called "words". The seven sayings ar ...
*
Three Hours' Agony The Three Hours' Agony (also known as the Tre Ore, The Great Three Hours, or Three Hours' Devotion) is a Christian service held in many Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist churches on Good Friday from noon till 3p.m. to commemorate t ...
*
Via Lucis The Stations of the Resurrection, also known by the Latin name ''Via Lucis'' (Way of Light), are a form of Christian devotion, encouraging meditation upon the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and some of the Resurrection appearances and other episodes ...


References


External links


Scriptural Stations of the Cross
from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The Way Of The Cross: Presentation
(historical development; present form, both traditional and scriptural), from the official Vatican website (accessed 19 May 2020)

from the ttps://www.vatican.va/ official Vatican website
Video
Corine Schleif Corine Schleif is a professor and art historian who researches, teaches and writes about Medieval art, Renaissance art, feminist art theory, and the motivations behind the creating and destroying of art. She is faculty at Arizona State Universit ...
. Adam Kraft's Seven Falls of Christ. Walking the History of Emotions in Nuremberg. Part 1
Video
Corine Schleif. Adam Kraft's Seven Falls of Christ. Walking the History of Emotions in Nuremberg. Part 2

article from '' The Catholic Encyclopedia'' {{Authority control Christian iconography Christian terminology Cross symbols Passion of Jesus in art by theme Franciscan spirituality Catholic art by subject Catholic devotions Sorrowful Mysteries