Stations of the Cross

The object of the Stations is to help the faithful to make a kind of pilgrimage to the chief scenes of Christ's sufferings and death. It is carried out by passing from Station to Station, with certain prayers at each and devout meditation on the various incidents in turn. Each station is marked by an image representing a scene in the Passion of Christ.
(Also called the Way of the Cross, Via Crucis, and Via Dolorosa).

Stations of the Cross are now to be found in almost every church, and there are usually fourteen. They are as follows:

• Christ condemned to death ;
• the cross is laid upon him;
• His first fall;
• He meets His Blessed Mother;
• Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the cross;
• Christ's face is wiped by Veronica;
• His second fall;
• He meets the women of Jerusalem ;
• His third fall;
• He is stripped of His garments;
• His crucifixion;
• His death on the cross;
• His body is taken down from the cross; and
• laid in the tomb.

For more information and resources for praying the Stations of the Cross, see the USCCB website page on the Stations of the Cross.