The Stations of the Cross history and indulgences

It’s known as the “Via Dolorosa”, meaning “Sorrowful Way”. It has become a pious tradition during the Lenten season not just for Catholics, but many Protestants have started acknowledging and revering the Stations. However, the Catholic Church gave the world the Stations of the Cross as we know it today. For Catholics, this devotion also brings plenary indulgences when piously observed.

The Stations trace the path Jesus took from the time He was condemned to death all the way to his crucifixion and burial. Church Tradition teaches this very remembrance of the path Jesus took was traced daily by the Blessed Mother after the Ascension. Imagine how Mary felt as she walked back through the places the Lord Jesus suffered and died. The tears she must have cried as she knelt at the locations where He fell beneath the weight of the cross. Consider the hurt in her heart as she stood in the location where Jesus was condemned to death, knowing He was innocent. How her hurt must have penetrated through every bit of her being as she stood where He was crucified. For us, the Stations of the Cross are tracing the path our Lord took for the redemption of our sin. For the Blessed Mother, her suffering was so much more than just “stations” and “remembrance”. Imagine the Blessed Mother of God stopping at the site where Jesus met the women and contemplating in her heart, as she did her entire life, the meaning and depth of His words and actions.

It was not until the year 312, after Constantine legalized Christianity in the region, that these holy places were opened for the followers of Christ to safely and devoutly trace the path Christ took. However, the early Christians who initially started following the steps of Christ, traced the Passion in reverse order from that which we do today. They started at the site of the crucifixion, Mount Calvary, and took the steps back to where He is condemned at Pilate’s house. They started at the end and worked their way to the beginning, as opposed to our tradition of doing it in the reverse today. Throughout the course of time, the pilgrimage and piety of the Stations began to start at Pilate’s house and then continued through to the crucifixion and burial.

St. Jerome lived the latter part of his life in Bethlehem and often spoke about the crowds of pilgrims from all over the world that came to the holy places of the Lord’s passion to venerate and pray. For the great saint, it was crucial to not only pray the stations, but in everything we do, we should remember the Passion of Christ. “In every act we do, in every step we take, let our hand trace the Lord’s Cross,” said St. Jerome.

For many around the world, however, it was simply impossible to travel to the Holy Land and experience such a devotion and pilgrimage. In the fifth century, because of increased interest in reproducing these stations to allow individuals unable to travel to the actual locations to venerate and pray them, depictions began to be created.

“For instance, St. Petronius, Bishop of Bologna, 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. (The same notion inspired the building of the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, where one can visit and see reproductions of the Bethlehem Chapel, the tomb of our Lord, and other important shrines of the Holy Land.)”, says Very Rev. William P. Saunders, Episcopal Vicar for the Office of Faith Formation, Arlington, Virginia.

The term “stations” was created by English pilgrim William Wey. According to Fr. Saunders, it was Wey’s trip to the Holy Land in 1462 that gave the world the term “stations” as Wey attempted to describe how pilgrims to these sites would revere and remember the sufferings and sacrifice of Christ. Wey’s original “stations”, as he described them, did not include most of the stations we have today. In fact, only five of Wey’s 14 stations are included in the version we use today. Wey’s stations included things such as the city gate where Christ passed as well as the houses of Herod and Simon the Pharisee.

Twelve of the 14 stations we have today came from Adrichomius’ book “Jerusalem ‘Sicut Christi Tempure floruit,” written in 1584. It was not until the 16th century that devotional books included the additional two stations, giving us the 14 stations we have today, and also provided prayers for each one. In 1686, Pope Innocent XI approved for the stations to be erected in all churches and provided plenary indulgences for Franciscans who prayed the stations. However, it was not until 1726 that all the faithful were granted plenary indulgences for praying the stations, thanks to Pope Benedict XIII.

The purpose of the Stations is to allow faithful Christians to make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer even when not able to travel to the actual sites in the Holy Land. Although it is popular and often performed during Lent, it is a good practice to do throughout the year.

The 14 Stations of the Cross are as follows:

1.)    Jesus is condemned to death

2.)    Jesus carries His cross

3.)    Jesus falls the first time

4.)    Jesus meets His Mother

5.)    Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry His cross

6.)    Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

7.)    Jesus falls the second time

8.)    Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

9.)    Jesus falls a third time

10.)  Jesus clothes are taken away

11.)  Jesus is nailed to the cross

12.)  Jesus dies on the cross

13.)  The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross

14.)  Jesus is laid in the tomb

In order to gain a plenary indulgence by praying the Stations, the following 4 things must be done:

1.)    It must be made where the Way of the Cross (Stations of the Cross) is legitimately erected, this is most of the time at a Church.

2.)    All 14 stations must be present and represented. Fourteen crosses are required, and it is also customary for most places to add pictures or images of the station.

3.)    Meditation on the Passion and Death of the Lord must be observed throughout the prayers and stations.

4.)    A movement from one station to the next is required.

If, for various reasons, it is not possible for all those attending to physically move from station to station, it suffices for the indulgence if at least the individual conducting the stations physically moves from station to station and the others are permitted to remain in their place. Additionally, if you are unable to attend or pray the stations physically at a location where they are erected, you can still gain the plenary indulgence if you spend a minimum of a half an hour in pious reading and meditation of the Passion and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ.