Stations of the Cross Devotion

The Way of the Cross (or Stations of the Cross) is a well-known and popular devotion to the Passion of Christ whose roots can be traced to the earliest centuries of the Church, when the faithful would trace the Lord's steps from place to place on his final journey to the Cross. This devotion was brought by pilgrims back to their homelands, especially in the West, where replicas of the "stations" were placed in and around churches.

With origins stretching back to the 4th century, this devotion survives to this day, and it is an important part of Lent for Western Christians—Western Rite Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and certain Protestant branches as well—similar in significance to the Akathist services for Eastern Rite Orthodox.