STATIONS OF THE CROSS

You can pray the Stations of the Cross (also known as the Way of the Cross) alone at anytime, at St Winefride's we pray them in a group on Wednesday's and Fridays during Lent.

Tradition traces this loving tribute to our Lord back to the Blessed Mother’s retracing her son’s last steps along what became known as the Via Dolorosa (the Sorrowful Way) on His way to His Crucifixion at Calvary in Jerusalem.

Pilgrims to the Holy Land commemorated Christ’s Passion in a similar manner as early as the 4th century A.D. The Stations of the Cross developed as a devotion in earnest, however, around the 13th to 14th centuries.

It became a way of allowing those who could not make the long, expensive, arduous journey to Jerusalem to make a pilgrimage in prayer, at least, in their church! Although the original number of stations varied greatly, they became fixed at 14 in the 18th century.

The Stations of the Cross themselves are represented in St Winefride's by a series of 14 enamelled scenes showing our Lord's Passion. They are meant to be “stopping points” along the journey for prayer and meditation.

The prayers of the Stations of the Cross on our website are contemporary meditations on Peace and Justice. To access the stations click on the station number on the left panel.