The Stations of the Cross is one of the older and most popular devotions of the Roman Catholic Church. In the third century, pilgrims would follow the path in the Holy Land taken by Jesus to his crucifixion. In the Middle Ages, St. Francis of Assisi promoted devotions to the Passion of Jesus and founded a group of Franciscans to guard and promote the devotion to these holy places. During the 15th and 16th centuries, later Franciscan began to build outdoor shrines throughout Europe to imitate the shrines that were established along the Via Dolorosa – the path that Jesus took to his Passion – in the Holy Land.

In 1686, Pope Innocent XI granted the Franciscans the right to erect the Stations within their Church and in 1731, Pope Clement XII allowed all Churches to install Stations as long as they were erected by a Franciscan priest with the permission of the bishop. It was not until 1862 that the requirement to have a Franciscan priest install the Stations of the Cross was lifted and today almost all Catholic Churches have the Stations of the Cross prominently displayed and venerated.

Early versions of the Stations of the Cross had seven stations and as many as 30). In 1731, the number of stations was set at 14. Of the fourteen standard stations, only eight have a clear Scriptural foundation, with the others coming from the longstanding Tradition of the Church. In 1991, St. John Paul II introduced the Scriptural Stations of the Cross, which are more closely aligned with the biblical accounts. These Scriptural Stations were approved for universal use by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007.

We adore you, O Christ, and we praise You,

Because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world!