Every Friday of Lent at 4:00PM
At Saint Anne Church.
What are the Stations of the Cross?
The Stations of the Cross refer to a series of depictions of Christ’s journey. They represent 14 key moments in the trial, crucifixion, and burial of Jesus Christ. Stations of the Cross, or the Way of the Cross, have been celebrated by Roman Catholic believers for centuries, typically right before Easter.
In addition to churches, you might be able to find them in cemeteries, corridors of hospitals, religious houses, or even on mountainsides.
The key scenes at each station are:
- First station: Jesus is condemned to death
- Second station: Jesus is forced to carry His cross
- Third station: Jesus falls the first time
- Fourth station: Jesus meets His mother
- Fifth station: Simon of Cyrene is made to carry the cross
- Sixth station: Veronica wipes Jesus’ face
- Seventh station: Jesus falls the second time
- Eighth station: The women of Jerusalem weep over Jesus
- Ninth station: Jesus falls the third time
- Tenth station: Jesus is stripped of His garments
- Eleventh station: Jesus is nailed to the cross
- Twelfth station: Jesus dies on the cross
- Thirteenth station: Jesus is taken down from the cross
- Fourteenth station: Jesus is placed in the sepulcher
As part of the ritual at each station, there are specific prayers performed together by the priest and the church’s congregants. Although you can find Stations of the Cross depictions in different religious denominations, the Catholic church is the institution largely devoted to the practice.