The History of the Stations of the Cross

      The Stations of the Cross have been a popular prayer devotion in parishes throughout the world amongst the Catholic faithful,  especially during the holy season of Lent for our preparation for Easter.  I love learning the history of things in our Church.  The Stations of the Cross have a very interesting history indeed.  

       The prayer devotion of the Stations of the Cross has evolved throughout the history of the Church.  Tradition holds that the Blessed Mother, while she was still in Jerusalem, visited the scenes of her son’s passion.  After Constantine legalized Christianity in the early 4th century, this pathway was marked with its important stations.  St. Jerome, living in Bethlehem during the latter part of his life in the early 5th century, attested to the crowds of pilgrims from various countries who visited these holy places and followed the Way of the Cross.        

       This prayer devotion continued to grow in popularity.  In the fifth century, an interest developed in the Church to symbolize the holy places in other areas of the world so pilgrims who could not actually travel to the Holy Land could do so in a devotional, spiritual way in their hearts.  St. Petronius, the Bishop of Bologna in Italy, constructed a group of chapels at the monastery of San Stefano which depicted the more important shrines of the Holy Land, including several of the stations. 

         In 1342, the Franciscans were appointed as guardians of the shrines of the Holy Land.  The faithful received indulgences for praying at the different stations, such as Pilate’s house, the place e where Christ met His mother, the place where Christ spoke to the women, the place where Christ was nailed to the cross, and at Christ’s tomb.  The Franciscans were instrumental in popularizing the devotion of the Stations of the Cross.

         William Wey, an English pilgrim, visited the Holy Land in 1458 and again in 1462.  He is credited with the term “stations”.  He described the manner in which a pilgrim followed the steps of Christ. 

        When the Moslems blocked the access to the Holy Land, reproductions of the stations were erected at popular spiritual centers throughout Europe.  The devotion continued to grow in popularity amongst the faithful.  The number of the stations varied.  By the 16th century, devotional books of the Stations of the Cross appeared in countries throughout Europe, which had 14 stations with prayers for each one. At the end of the 17th century, the establishment of the stations in churches became more popular.  In 1686, Pope Innocent XI, realizing that few people could travel to the Holy Land due to the Moslem occupation, granted the Franciscans the right to erect stations in all of their churches and that the same indulgences would be given to the faithful for practicing the devotion as if on an actual pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In the early 18th century, Pope Clement XII permitted stations to be erected in all churches and fixed the number at 14. 

          When I was going through the RCIA program as an adult back in 1992, I grew to love going to the Stations of the Cross at the parish of St Norbert in Orange, California on Friday evenings during Lent.  To me, the Stations of the Cross are an important part of our Lenten journey.  I know that many of at St Jude are very excited about the outdoor Stations of the Cross that we are installing at our parish.  I hope that the Stations of the Cross become a regular part of your Lenten journey.