Praying the Stations or Way of the Cross is one of the most traditional and identifiable devotional practices in Catholicism. This devotional prayer can be traced back to early Christian pilgrims, who would visit the various historical sites in Jerusalem associated with Jesus Christ’s suffering and death. Each station on this route, known as the ‘Via Dolorosa’, represented a significant place where Christ had walked on his way to crucifixion.
Over the years, the stations have been revised to draw a closer link with the gospel accounts of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. St John Paul II, who visited St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne during his lifetime, reinforced their role in contemplating the life and death of Jesus Christ:
What does it mean to have a part in the Cross of Christ? It means to experience, in the Holy Spirit, the love hidden within the Cross of Christ. It means to recognise, in the light of this love, our own cross. It means to take up that cross once more and, strengthened by this love, to continue our journey ... To journey through life, in imitation of the one who ‘endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God’ (Hebrews 12:2).
—Pope John Paul II, Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum, Good Friday 2000
Praying the Stations of the Cross at St Patrick’s Cathedral
The Stations of the Cross in St Patrick’s Cathedral are relief sculptures executed in caste concrete and painted. They have been in the Cathedral since the late 1860s, and in 1902, they were enclosed in elaborate wooden frames. They were last restored in 1996.
The stations are located on the walls of the Cathedral’s transept.
