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The Way of the Cross

a brief history

During the late Middle Ages, when the Turkish occupation of the Holy Land prevented pilgrims from visiting its sacred sites, the faithful made a custom of making simple replicas of those sacred sites in Europe, where they could come to pray.  Medieval Christians sought more details about the Passion of the Lord, beyond what was provided by the succinct stories of the gospels.  They turned to the writings of the mystics and the apocryphal gospels for more information about the last hours of Jesus. From these sources came the meeting of Jesus and his Mother, the story of Veronica, and the various falls of Jesus, which became part of the Stations of the Cross.  One of the most popular of these "pilgrimages at home" was to pray the stations of the cross, which were erected in imitation of the stations (or stopping places of prayer) on the street in Jerusalem that led from the judgment hall of Pilate to Calvary. By the end of the sixteenth century the present fourteen stations became the standard for this devotion. Only recently has a fifteenth station been added: "The Resurrection."  The Stabat Mater often accompanies the way of the cross.  The fifteenth station is not visited during the season of Lent.

Please join us in meditation as we follow Christ's journey from Gabbatha (the stone pavement) where Jesus was condemned, to Golgotha (skull hill) where He was crucified, and onward to His resurrection.

Start your walk with St. Francis of Assisi

Start your walk with Cardinal Newman

   The clay plaques displayed in our stations were created by Slabbinck.