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1st century AD - 636 AD
During the first few centuries of Christianity, Christians were under persecution. It was difficult to pray at the holy sites in Jerusalem where Jesus suffered and died. Then, St. Helen (the mother of Constantine) led excavations in Jerusalem to find the True Cross and site of the Crucifixion in 326 AD.
After that, Christians came to Jerusalem to walk in Jesus' footsteps following His Way of the Cross. Christians were prevented from doing this pilgrimage when the Muslims took over Jerusalem in 636 and 638 AD.
1300s- St. FRANCIS of Assisi
St. Francis and the Franciscans developed the Via Dolorosa (Latin for the "Sorrowful Way") beginning in the 1300s. It was a peaceful pathway tracing Jesus' finals steps through Jerusalem. They marked routes throughout the city all the way to Calvary. The Franciscans made it with different "Stations" for meditation and prayer. They then began erecting Stations outside of the Holy Land to allow more people to pray the Way of the Cross.
1700s- St. Leonard of Port Maurice
St. Leonard became a Franciscan in 1697 and is called the "Apostle of the Stations of the Cross." He reportedly set up over 500 Stations of the Cross across different churches in Italy. St. Leonardo even set up Stations in the Colosseum in Rome.
1686
Pope Innocent XI permitted the Franciscans in 1686 to make Via Dolorosa, which is the route believed to have been taken by Jesus through Jerusalem to Calvary, displays in all their churches. He allowed for a spiritual pilgrimage that offered the same indulgences as visiting the actual sites in the Holy Land.
1731
Pope Clement XII allowed all churches to practice the Stations. He also made the official list of 14 Stations of the Cross that we still have to this day. These illustrations capture key moments during Jesus’ journey to His death on Good Friday. In 1742, Pope Benedict XIV told all priests to add the 14 Stations of the Cross to their churches. They had to include 14 crosses and often had a picture of the Station.
1975
Pope Paul VI approved a Gospel version of these stations, often called the Scriptural Stations of the Cross. This set of 14 Stations includes other stories from Jesus's Passion and Death, like the Agony in the Garden, the Crowning with Thorns, and His words from the Cross. Pope St. John Paul II wrote his own Scriptural Stations in 1991 and led them in the Roman Colosseum on Good Friday.
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