The word “station” comes from the Latin word that means “to stand.” We are walking from Christ’s trial to his crucifixion at Calvary and we stop and stand at certain sites (stations) that commemorate various events that took place along the way. Eventually, these shrines became the 14 stations we now know and celebrate. By the 1500s, people all over the world started creating replicas of the places along the route in Jerusalem.
Promotion of the devotion to the stations began in earnest with the Franciscans, who were given custody of the Holy Places in the Holy Land in the 1300s.Īs Christianity spread across the globe and contention developed in the city of Jerusalem, it was no longer easy or even possible to visit the holy sites.
Centuries ago, Christian pilgrims desired to visit the Holy Land and see the sites of Jesus’ Passion. From the earliest of days, followers of Jesus told the story of his passion, death and resurrection.
