by Rev. Peter D. Rocca, C.S.C.

I have had the opportunity and the blessing of visiting the Holy Land on two occasions, once in the late 1980s and, more recently, in 2013. A highlight of both visits was walking the Via Dolorosa, or Via Crucis, in the holy city of Jerusalem, traditionally held as the path Jesus followed on his way to his crucifixion on Mount Calvary.

History of the Stations
During the Crusades, after the Siege of Jerusalem in 1187, Jerusalem fell to the forces of Saladin, the first sultan of Egypt and Syria. In 1219, St. Francis of Assisi traveled to Egypt, hoping to convert the nephew of Saladin, al-Kamil, who had succeeded his uncle as Sultan of Egypt. During a cease-fire between the Christian and Muslim forces at Damietta, the Sultan graciously received Francis. The visit is reported in contemporary Crusader sources as well as in early biographies of Francis. Over the course of a few days, Francis had hoped to convert the Sultan and his followers, but failed to do so. The Sultan, however, was greatly impressed with the Saint. According to some late sources, he gave Francis permission to visit the sacred places in the Holy Land and even to preach there. The Franciscan Order has been present in the Holy Land almost uninterruptedly ever since, even to this day.

Franciscan Devotion
St. Francis had a deep devotion to the Passion of Christ. He is believed to be the first recorded person to have received the stigmata. He and his followers desired to spread this devotion throughout the Church. Because most Christians around the world would never have the opportunity to visit the Holy Land and to walk the Via Crucis in person, the Franciscans hoped to bring the Holy Land to them. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Franciscans began the practice of building a series of outdoor shrines throughout Europe, replicating the shrines along the Via Crucis in Jerusalem. The number of stations originally varied between seven and thirty; seven was the most common. In 1686, in response to their petition, Pope Innocent XI granted the Franciscans the right to erect these station shrines within their churches. This right was later extended in 1731 to all churches by Pope Clement XII. At the same time, Pope Clement fixed the number of stations at fourteen.

From the eighteenth century to the present, the Stations of the Cross have commemorated the following scenes of Christ’s passion:

I. Pilate condemns Jesus to death

II. Jesus accepts his cross
III. Jesus falls the first time

IV. Jesus meets his mother, Mary

V. Simon of Cyrene helps carry the cross

VI. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

VII. Jesus falls a second time

VIII. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

IX. Jesus falls a third time

X. Jesus is stripped of his garments

XI. Jesus is nailed to the cross

XII. Jesus dies on the cross

XIII. Jesus is taken down from the cross

XIV. Jesus is placed in the tomb

Although not a part of the traditional Stations, the Resurrection of Jesus is sometimes included among contemporary Stations as a fifteenth Station.

Stations of the Cross at Notre Dame’s Basilica
Fr. Sorin wished, of course, to have Stations of the Cross in Sacred Heart Church, whose cornerstone was blessed in 1871. To accomplish this task, Fr. Sorin hired Luigi Gregori (1819-1896) in 1874. An artist-in-residence at the Vatican under Pope Pius IX, Gregori planned to stay only three years at the University and then return to Rome. Gregori ended up staying a full seventeen years at Notre Dame, painting practically everything in sight (including murals throughout the Church, the interior of the Golden Dome, and the now-infamous murals of Christopher Columbus in the Main Building). Two of his Stations (XII and XIII), won medals when exhibited at the 1983 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. As his artistic skills became known, Gregori was hired to paint Stations for churches around the country: a copy the Stations that appear in Notre Dame’s Basilica can be seen in churches as far away as Mount Angel, Oregon!

Often, Gregori would use the faces of Holy Cross religious in his paintings. For example, a brother’s face is pictured as Simon of Cyrene in the fifth Station. There is a story of another brother, however, who did not fare so well. This brother did not get along at all with Gregori. Gregori paid him back by portraying him in the tenth Station manhandling Jesus, stripping him of his garments. You never knew where you might end up with Luigi Gregori!

Spirituality of the Stations
In one of his conferences, Blessed Basil Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, told his fellow religious:

In following Jesus, we are sure of reaching heaven. To follow him, however, it is necessary to deny ourselves and carry the cross. If we carry our own cross after Jesus, we will live. Life is in the cross and no place else. But we must not only take up the cross, we must carry it with courage. If we drag it after us, if we abandon it after having taken it up, if we trample it under foot, it will not save us. Let us follow the path that Jesus has walked and we will arrive at a happy eternity.

Carrying our own cross, or helping to carry the cross of another, is one of the central messages of the Stations of the Cross. We live in a society which prefers to shirk the Cross rather than embrace it. How often do we find ourselves, in times of sickness, tragedy, or death, wondering why God has allowed such events to afflict us?

I found myself asking the same question not long ago when my younger brother, Paul, died of ALS, leaving behind a wife and three children. For months, I saw him slowly deteriorate and wondered why he should have to suffer from this disease for which there is currently no cure. I could only stand in awe, however, of my brother who never complained of his illness, but accepted his suffering as sharing in the Cross of Jesus. Paul bore his cross with faith and courage, knowing that he was not alone in carrying such a heavy load. No matter what the cross may be, Paul reminded me that Jesus is always at our side assisting us, helping us to endure whatever cross we may have to carry, with courage.

This Lent, I invite you to find a Stations near you, and contemplate Christ’s gift of his own self for us by meditating with the moments of the Via Crucis. The following prayer, which concludes the text of the Way of the Cross found in the Directory of Devotional Prayer of the Congregation of Holy Cross, beautifully summarizes the meaning and impact of this devotion which has nourished the faith lives of Christians for centuries. Let us join in prayer together:

Lord Jesus Christ,

you made this journey to Calvary
and to your death on the Cross for love of us,
and to show us the way we must follow
to be one with you.
Forgive us for the times we have not been faithful
 in carrying the Cross.
Accept our love for you
 as an expression of our willingness
to make this journey with you throughout our lives.
As you have lived and died for us
,
we choose to live and die for you,
 always united to you.

Hear our prayer and help us.

We ask this in your name,
for you are Lord, forever and ever.

Amen.


Image Credits:

Via Dolorosa, Fifth Station, via iStock Photo.

Stations of the Cross, Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Matt Cashore.