Stations of the Cross are paintings or banners that depict various scenes of Jesus’ journey, carrying His cross from the Hall of Pilate to Golgotha (also called Calvary). The Stations are a series of 14 pictures illustrating the final hour of Jesus.
The First Station
Christ is condemned to death
The first station depicts the scene of Hall of Pilate, where Jesus is accused of blasphemy for calling Himself the Son of God, by the chief priests. Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, releases Barabbas and hands Jesus over to be crucified.
The Second Station
The cross is laid upon Him
The soldiers of the governor (Pilate) take Jesus to the Praetorium. They mock at him and place a crown of thrown on his head. The cross is then laid on Jesus, which He had to carry all the way to Golgotha, the Place of skull.
The Third Station
His first fall
Jesus falls for the first on his way to Calvary.
The Fourth Station
He meets His Blessed Mother
The fourth station illustrates the scene where a mother meets her son, who has been condemned to death.
The Fifth Station
Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the Cross
The soldiers force Simon of Cyrene, a passer-by to carry the cross.
The Sixth Station
Veronica wipes Christ`s face
Moved with pity, Veronica gave Jesus her veil to wipe his forehead. Jesus after using it hands it back to her, on which the image of his face miraculously appears.
The Seventh Station
His second fall
Jesus falls for the second time on his way to Calvary.
The Eighth Station
He meets the women of Jerusalem
A large crowd of people followed Jesus on his way to Calvary, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turns to them and asks them not to weep for him, but for themselves and their children.
The Ninth Station
His third fall
Jesus falls for the third time on his way to Calvary.
The Tenth Station
He is stripped of His garments
The soldiers strip him of his garments and divided it up by casting lots.
The Eleventh Station
His crucifixion
Jesus is nailed to the cross and a written charge “IESVS•NAZARENVS•REX•IVDÆORVM” (INRI), which translates to English as "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews” is placed on the cross.
The Twelfth Station
His death on the cross
At the ninth hour Jesus cries out loud “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani”, which means “My God, my god, why have you forsaken me?” and gives up his spirit.
The Thirteenth Station
His body is taken down from the Cross
The thirteenth station depicts Jesus` body being brought down from the cross and laid into His mother`s lap.
The Fourteenth Station
He is laid in the tomb
Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea, takes the body of Jesus, wraps it up in clean linen cloth and places it in his own new tomb cut out of the rocks.