The Stations of the Cross is such a beautiful devotion to have although not many know too much about the origin.

After the death of Jesus, many people traveled to the Holy Land to walk along the path of the Cross. Although no official markers or stations had really been known, people would visit the well known shrines at the Holy Land.

The devotion was growing bigger and becoming more popular throughout the world. St. Petronius, (the Bishop of Bologna, Italy during the 5th century,) built the Basilica di Santo Stefano, in English it is called the Basilica of Saint Stephen. In the Basilica he built shrines similar to the more important ones in the Holy Land, that were a part of the life of Christ.

This inspired the building project of the Franciscan Monastery in Washington. At this Monastery, you can go and see many reproductions of the important shrines in the Holy Land.

In the 16th century, the path from the praetorium of Pontius Pilate to the tomb of Jesus, was officially titled “Via Dolorosa” which means sorrowful way and as it is more commonly known as the Stations of the Cross.

The devotion continued to grow throughout the years and many people traveled to the Holy Land to follow the path of the Cross. Unfortunately during the 17th century many could not travel to the Holy Land because of the Muslem oppression. Although in 1686, Pope Innocent the 11th, allowed the Catholic Churches to have stations.

In 1731, Pope Clement the 12th decided the number of the stations would be 14.

Eleven years later, Pope Benedict the 14th, encouraged all priests to include the stations in the churches, along with images or pictures of each of the 14 stations. Saint Leonard Casanova (from Porto Maurizio, Italy) set up over 500 sets of stations in different places throughout Italy. Among the many devotions this Saint helped to spread, he especially helped to spread the devotion of the Stations of the Cross.

During Lent, the Stations of the Cross are done at Church every Friday. Unfortunately not everyone has the opportunity to go to the Stations every Friday, but there are ways to still do them at home. If you have a booklet for the Stations of the Cross you can pray them at home in front of a Crucifix or you can find a video of the Stations and watch that.