Origin of the Stations: 4th Century Jerusalem
The devotion originated in the late 4th century when pilgrims flocked to the Holy Land from all parts of the world to visit the land of Jesus. Heading the list of places they visited was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which had been built by the Emperor Constantine in 335 AD atop Calvary and the tomb of Jesus.
Processions of pilgrims to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher were common. Egeria, a woman from Gaul who traveled to the Holy Land in the 4th century, recalls in her diary how she joined Christians from all parts of the Roman world walking westward on Holy Thursday from the garden of Gethsemane to the church of the Holy Sepulcher, where they celebrated Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The Via Dolorosa
Over the years, the route of pilgrim processions — beginning at the ruins of the Fortress Antonia and ending at the church of the Holy Sepulcher — was accepted as the way that Jesus went to his death. It was known as the “Via Dolorosa,” the “Sorrowful Way;” Today, it wends through the crowded areas of Jerusalem’s Old City, and pilgrims still travel it in prayer.
At the end of the 17th century, the erection of stations in churches became more popular. In 1686, Pope Innocent XI, realizing that few people could travel to the Holy Land due to the Moslem oppression, granted the right to erect stations in all of their churches and that the same indulgences would be given to the Franciscans and those affiliated with them for practicing the devotion as if on an actual pilgrimage. Pope Benedict XIII extended these indulgences to all of the faithful in 1726.
Five years later, Pope Clement XII permitted stations to be created in all churches and fixed the number at 14. In 1742, Pope Benedict XIV exhorted all priests to enrich their churches with the Way of the Cross, which must include 14 crosses and are usually accompanied with pictures or images of each particular station. The popularity of the devotion was also encouraged by preachers like St. Leonard Casanova (1676-1751) of Porto Maurizio, Italy, who reportedly erected over 600 sets of stations throughout Italy.
To date, there are 14 traditional stations: Pilate condemns Christ to death; Jesus carries the cross; the first fall; Jesus meets His Blessed Mother; Simon of Cyrene helps to carry the cross; Veronica wipes the face of Jesus; the second fall; Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem; the third fall; Jesus is stripped of His garments; Jesus is nailed to the cross; Jesus dies on the cross; Jesus is taken down from the cross; and Jesus is laid in the tomb.
Because of the intrinsic relationship between the passion and death of our Lord with His resurrection, several of the devotional booklets now include a 15th station, which commemorates the Resurrection. A plenary indulgence is granted for those who piously exercise the Way of the Cross, actually moving from station to station where they are legitimately erected and while mediating on the passion and death of our Lord (“Enchiridion of Indulgences,” No. 63). Those who are impeded from visiting a church may gain the same indulgence by piously reading and meditating on the passion and death of our Lord for one-half hour. The continued importance of the stations in the devotional life of Catholics is attested by both Pope Paul VI, who approved a Gospel-based version of the stations in 1975, and Pope John Paul II, who has also written his own version.
Compiled by N. Lamour, M.Ed, MTS -Web reference : Rev. William Saunders, “How Did the Stations of the Cross Begin?” Arlington Catholic Herald and Victor Hoagland, C.P. The Stations of the Cross, The Passionists
L’Origine du Chemin de Croix dans l’Eglise Catholique
Depuis le règne de Constantin en 313, les foules de chrétiens ont voulu, chaque année se trouver à
Jérusalem, la semaine de la Passion du Christ et refaire le chemin que celui-ci avait parcouru les jours
qui ont précédé sa mort. La mort et la résurrection du Christ ont fondé la naissance de l’Eglise à la
Pentecôte. En quelque sorte, les chrétiens des premiers siècles voulaient revivre l’événement, s’identifier
à Jésus, et par ce geste le remercier.
« Les franciscains imaginèrent et diffusèrent aux XIVème et XVème siècle la pratique du chemin de la
croix. Gardiens des lieux saints depuis le XIVème siècle, en vertu d’un accord passé avec les Turcs, ils
dirigeaient à Jérusalem les exercices spirituels des pèlerins sur la Via Dolorosa suivie par le Christ et
allant au tribunal de Pilate, au bas de la ville, jusqu’au Golgotha, le Calvaire, à son sommet. Ils eurent
l’idée de transposer cette forme de méditation sur la Passion à l’ensemble des fidèles et ainsi de
permettre aux pauvres et à ceux qui ne pouvaient se rendre en Terre Sainte d’accomplir la même
démarche que les pèlerins.
Pour se faire, ils disposaient en plein air ou dans les églises, des séries d’évocation (tableaux, statues,
croix…), des scènes marquantes de l’itinéraire du Christ vers le calvaire et ils faisaient prier et méditer les
fidèles à chacune de ses étapes ou “stations”. Le nombre de celles-ci varia jusqu’au XVIIIème siècle. au
cours duquel elles furent fixées à 14 par les papes Benoît XII et Clément XIV… ».Aujourd’hui, comme à
Lourdes, par exemple, dans la montagne au-dessus des sanctuaires, on ajoute parfois une 15ème
station, celle du tombeau vide qui relie ainsi, en finale, toutes les stations à la résurrection.
Source : Site internet de la conférence des évêques de France et d’autres recherches faites en anglais
quand j’étais étudiante en théologie.
Adapted by Nekita Lamour, M.Ed, MTS Carême 2014
Diplomée en Théologie, Weston Jesuit School of Theology
Candidate pour une deuxième maîtrise en Théologie á Xavier University, New Orleans