The Stations of the Cross
Walk with Jesus from Pilate’s court to the tomb. The fourteen traditional stations, each with a Scripture reference, a short reflection, and a prayer, plus the Scriptural Way of the Cross that St. John Paul II introduced in 1991.
What are the Stations of the Cross?
The Stations of the Cross (also called the Way of the Cross or Via Crucis) are a prayer in which we follow Jesus, step by step, on the road from His condemnation to His burial. The Catechism names the Stations among the forms of popular piety that have long surrounded the Church’s sacramental life (CCC 1674), and it says that the stations of the cross trace “the way of Jesus, who by his holy Cross has redeemed the world” (CCC 2669).
The devotion began with pilgrims in Jerusalem who retraced the path of the Passion. Since the fourteenth century the Franciscans have cared for the holy places there, and they helped spread the practice to churches everywhere, so that people who could never travel to the Holy Land could make a “pilgrimage” in their own parish. In 1731 Pope Clement XII allowed the Stations to be erected in all churches, and their number was fixed at fourteen. In the eighteenth century, St. Leonard of Port Maurice, a Franciscan preacher, set up hundreds of them across Italy.
On Good Friday 1991, St. John Paul II led a Scriptural Way of the Cross at the Colosseum in Rome, in which every station is an event recorded in the Gospels. Both forms are approved, and both are good to pray. The Church’s Directory on Popular Piety adds that the Way of the Cross should end in a way that leaves us waiting in faith and hope for the Resurrection (no. 134).
“O all ye that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow.”Lamentations 1:12 (Douay-Rheims)
How to pray the Stations
- Find a place. Most Catholic churches have fourteen crosses or images on the walls. Walk from one to the next, or pray at home, in front of a crucifix, using this page.
- Begin with the opening prayer below. Many parishes sing a verse of the Stabat Mater between stations.
- At each station, say or sing the response: “We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.” Many people genuflect as they say it.
- Read the Scripture or the reflection, then pause. The heart of this devotion is meditation on the Passion. Silence is as important as the words.
- Close each station with a short prayer, and, if you like, an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.
- End with the closing prayer. The whole devotion takes about 20 to 30 minutes.
When? Many parishes pray the Stations together on the Fridays of Lent, and especially on Good Friday. But the Stations can be prayed on any day of the year.
Indulgence. The Church grants a plenary indulgence to the faithful who devoutly make the Way of the Cross before lawfully erected stations, meditating on the Passion. Fourteen crosses are required; pictures or images of the stations are not. Those praying it must move from one station to the next; in a public celebration where this is not possible for everyone, it suffices that the leader moves. No particular vocal prayers are required. The usual conditions apply: sacramental Confession, Holy Communion, prayer for the Pope’s intentions, and freedom from all attachment to sin. Those legitimately impeded may gain the indulgence by spending some time (for example, a quarter of an hour) in pious reading and meditation on the Passion and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ (Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, 1999, grant 13; earlier editions no. 63). What is an indulgence?
The fourteen Stations
Scripture quotations are from the Douay-Rheims Bible. The reflections and prayers are written by LearnGodsLight for personal and parish use.
Opening prayer
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ, You walked the way of the cross out of love for the Father and for us. As I follow You now from station to station, open my heart to the mystery of Your Passion. Give me true sorrow for my sins and a deeper love for You, so that I may share in Your cross here and in the glory of Your Resurrection forever. Amen.
Optional verse (Stabat Mater, trans. Edward Caswall, public domain):
At the cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last.
-
Station 1: Jesus is condemned to death
Mt 27:22–26; Lk 23:13–25; Jn 19:16V.We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You,
R.because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.Pilate knows Jesus is innocent, yet he gives in to the crowd to protect himself. Jesus stands silent before an unjust judge. He who will judge the living and the dead lets Himself be judged, so that we might not be condemned.
Lord Jesus, when I am tempted to choose what is easy over what is right, give me courage. Forgive the times I have condemned others in my heart.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
-
Station 2: Jesus takes up His cross
Jn 19:17V.We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You,
R.because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.“And bearing his own cross, he went forth to that place which is called Calvary” (Jn 19:17). Jesus does not refuse the wood. He embraces the weight of our sins out of love, and He invites us to follow Him by taking up our own cross each day (Lk 9:23).
Jesus, help me to accept the crosses of my life, small and great, and to carry them with You instead of alone.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
-
Station 3: Jesus falls the first time
Tradition; cf. Is 53:4–6V.We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You,
R.because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.The Gospels do not describe the falls, but Christian tradition has long pictured them, because Isaiah foretold a Servant crushed under our burdens: “Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows” (Is 53:4). The Son of God knows what it is to be weak, and He gets up again.
Lord, when I fall into sin, do not let me stay down. Lift me up by Your grace and lead me back to You.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
-
Station 4: Jesus meets His Mother
Tradition; cf. Lk 2:34–35; Jn 19:25V.We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You,
R.because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.Simeon had told Mary, “thy own soul a sword shall pierce” (Lk 2:35). Now that word is fulfilled. Mary cannot take away her Son’s suffering, but she does not leave Him. Her silent faithfulness is a model for every Christian who stays close to someone in pain.
Holy Mary, Mother of sorrows, stay with me on my way, and teach me to stay faithful to Jesus as you did.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
-
Station 5: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry His cross
Mt 27:32; Mk 15:21; Lk 23:26V.We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You,
R.because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.Simon was a passer-by, “coming out of the country” (Mk 15:21), forced into service. Yet by sharing the cross he became part of the Passion. St. Mark even names his sons, which suggests the family became known among the first Christians.
Jesus, let me not walk past those who are weighed down. Make me a Simon for the people You put in my path.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
-
Station 6: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
Tradition; cf. Is 53:2–3V.We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You,
R.because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.An ancient tradition tells of a woman who pushed through the crowd to wipe the face of Jesus. Her name, Veronica, has long been linked with the Latin words for “true image.” In a face disfigured by suffering, she saw the face of God. Every small act of tenderness toward the suffering is done for Him (Mt 25:40).
Lord, imprint Your face on my heart, and help me to recognize You in the poor, the sick, and the forgotten.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
-
Station 7: Jesus falls the second time
Tradition; cf. Heb 4:15–16V.We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You,
R.because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.Jesus falls again. “For we have not a high priest, who can not have compassion on our infirmities” (Heb 4:15). Because He has shared our weakness, we can come to Him with confidence, even when we fall into the same sins again and again.
Jesus, when I am discouraged by my repeated failures, give me the confidence to return to Your mercy, especially in Confession.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
-
Station 8: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
Lk 23:27–31V.We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You,
R.because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.Even on the way to death, Jesus thinks of others. “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me; but weep for yourselves, and for your children” (Lk 23:28). He asks for more than sympathy; He calls for true conversion of heart.
Lord, let my sorrow for Your Passion become real repentance and a changed life.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
-
Station 9: Jesus falls the third time
Tradition; cf. Phil 2:6–8V.We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You,
R.because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.Close to Calvary, Jesus falls a third time. He “humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross” (Phil 2:8). He goes to the very end of His strength so that no one, however low they have fallen, is beyond His reach.
Jesus, when I feel I have nothing left, be my strength. Teach me humble obedience to the Father’s will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
-
Station 10: Jesus is stripped of His garments
Jn 19:23–24; Mt 27:35V.We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You,
R.because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.The soldiers divide His clothes and cast lots for His seamless tunic, fulfilling Psalm 21 (22). Jesus is left with nothing. He who clothes the lilies of the field accepts this humiliation to restore the dignity we lost through sin.
Lord, strip away my pride and my attachments, and help me respect the dignity of every person, body and soul.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
-
Station 11: Jesus is nailed to the cross
Lk 23:33–34; Jn 19:18V.We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You,
R.because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). With His hands and feet pierced, Jesus prays for those who hurt Him. The cross becomes His pulpit, and His first word from it is forgiveness.
Jesus, give me the grace to forgive those who have hurt me, and to pray for them as You prayed for Your executioners.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
-
Station 12: Jesus dies on the cross
Lk 23:44–46; Jn 19:25–30; Mk 15:33–39V.We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You,
R.because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.Darkness covers the land. Jesus entrusts His Mother to the beloved disciple, cries out to the Father, and says, “It is consummated” (Jn 19:30). Here is the greatest love: He lays down His life for His friends, and for His enemies. Pause here for a moment of silence; many people kneel.
Lord Jesus, You died so that I might live. Let me never forget the price of my redemption. Into Your hands I commend my life.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
-
Station 13: Jesus is taken down from the cross
Jn 19:38; Mk 15:42–46; Lk 23:50–53V.We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You,
R.because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple “secretly for fear of the Jews” (Jn 19:38), now asks openly for the body of Jesus. Tradition pictures the Body laid in Mary’s arms. The love that was hidden finds courage at the foot of the cross.
Mary, my Mother, as you received the Body of your Son, help me to receive Him worthily in Holy Communion.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
-
Station 14: Jesus is laid in the tomb
Mt 27:57–61; Jn 19:40–42V.We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You,
R.because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.They laid Jesus in a new tomb in a garden (Jn 19:41–42), and a great stone was rolled across the door. All seems lost, but the Church waits in faith. The seed has fallen into the ground, and the third day is coming.
Jesus, when my hopes seem buried, help me to wait for You in faith. Bring me at last to the joy of Your Resurrection.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, I have walked with You to Calvary and to the tomb. Thank You for loving me to the end. Let the memory of Your Passion stay with me today: make me patient in suffering, generous to those in need, quick to forgive, and faithful to You until the day You bring me home. You live and reign with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
For the intentions of the Holy Father: Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Scriptural Way of the Cross (1991)
Three of the traditional stations (the three falls) and the meeting with Veronica come from tradition rather than from the Gospels, and the meeting with Mary is not described in the Gospels either. They are still fitting subjects for prayer. On Good Friday 1991, St. John Paul II led a form in which each station is taken directly from the Gospel accounts. It begins in Gethsemane and includes the denial by Peter and the promise to the good thief. The U.S. bishops publish it as a resource for parishes and families.
- Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mt 26:36–41)
- Jesus, betrayed by Judas, is arrested (Mk 14:43–46)
- Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin (Lk 22:66–71)
- Jesus is denied by Peter (Mt 26:69–75)
- Jesus is judged by Pilate (Mk 15:1–5, 15)
- Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns (Jn 19:1–3)
- Jesus bears the cross (Jn 19:6, 15–17)
- Jesus is helped by Simon the Cyrenian to carry the cross (Mk 15:21)
- Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem (Lk 23:27–31)
- Jesus is crucified (Lk 23:33–34)
- Jesus promises His kingdom to the good thief (Lk 23:39–43)
- Jesus speaks to His mother and the disciple (Jn 19:25–27)
- Jesus dies on the cross (Lk 23:44–46)
- Jesus is placed in the tomb (Mt 27:57–60)
Read the full Scriptural Stations, with the readings and prayers, on the USCCB website: Scriptural Stations of the Cross (USCCB).
Sources
- Catechism of the Catholic Church 1674, 2669. Congregation for Divine Worship, Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (2001), 131–135.
- Apostolic Penitentiary, Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, 4th ed. (1999), grant 13 (Via Crucis).
- “Way of the Cross,” Catholic Encyclopedia (1912), on the history of the devotion, Clement XII (1731), and St. Leonard of Port Maurice.
- USCCB, Scriptural Stations of the Cross (titles and references, based on St. John Paul II, Good Friday 1991).
- Scripture: Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner revision (public domain). Stabat Mater verse: Edward Caswall’s translation (1849, public domain). Opening, closing, and station prayers and reflections: LearnGodsLight.