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Jesus dies

Stations of the Cross are a Holy Week activity not just restricted to Good Friday so I wanted to get this list up early for those that are still looking for ideas. There are thousands out there but I have tried to put together a collection from around the world attempting to highlight some of the challenging issues of our turbulent world that are portrayed and have continued adding to that theme this year. You might like to check out the additional images I have posted on Pinterest too.

Most of the images I have collected are far from the traditional stations of the cross though I have ended the collection with a mimed rendition of Sandi Patty’s Via Dolorosa. If there are other international images you think should be a part of this collection, please add them in the comments. I would like to continue to enrich this list each year and there is still enough time before Good Friday for me to update this post. Enjoy!

Stations of the Cross Resources

• Godspace contributor Lilly Lewin made a  Stations of the Cross kit that accompanies an online experience.
• J.R Woodward has an excellent post Stations of the Cross, on the V3 blog that gives both a good description and some great links to stations of the cross from different perspectives.
• A Stations of the Cross booklet is available as a free download from the Grotto Network.
• Catholic Agency for Overseas Development presents a Powerpoint and Leadership guide for Stations of the Cross for Lent 2021 – Free to download.
• Food for the Poor offers fourteen stations focused on the “suffering [of] Christ in the experience of every person who suffers from poverty or cries out for help”. Scroll to the end to download the pdf version.
• I have posted more images of stations of the Cross on Pinterest.
• Scott Erickson in Portland has also made a fantastic Stations in the Street kit for purchase.

Explanation of the stations of the Cross:

• From a Catholic perspective
• From a Protestant perspective
• Another good article on the development of the Stations of the Cross.

From Australia

Australian Stations of the Cross – Susan Purdie

• These stations are found in the Passion Community in Glen Osmond, Australia
• The Way of the Cross by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney

From New Zealand 

• Stations of the Cross shown in the Chapel at the Home of Compassion, Island Bay. They are backlit and made of handmade coloured float glass.
• Stations of the Cross while we reflect on Pacific neighbours suffering from climate change brought to us by Caritas.

A excellent reflection on John Badcock’s Stations of the Cross by Dr Warren Feeney.

From Middle East and Sudan

• The Way of the Cross in Jerusalem
• I also came across this interesting set of Jordanian stamps which Mansour Mouasher has found depicting the Stations of the Cross.
• Rachel Gadsden is a British artist who is exhibited internationally and who works across the mainstream and disability art sectors, presenting cross-cultural visual dialogues that consider the most profound notions of what it is to be human. Her stations of the cross for St Joseph’s Cathedral Abu Dhabi are powerful.

From North America

• This series by Gwynth Leech sets the traditional imagery of the Stations of the Cross in the midst of contemporary conflicts. They were commissioned by Saint Paul’s on the Green in Norwalk Connecticut in 2004. It is a heartrending presentation of the stations of the Cross using images of refugees from Iraq and Sudan as spectators and participants.
• Im/migration Stations of the Cross by Nanette Sawyer. It’s a series of original art, looking through the lens of immigration/migration. How can the Jesus story teach us about immigration/migration issues, and how can the stories and experiences of immigrants and migrants increase our understanding of the Jesus story? Make sure you leave plenty of time for this one. Read the description and then click each station down the side – it is a very profound experience.
• This series by Minnesotan artist Anne Brink is fascinating.
• This Environmental Stations of the Cross is a free resource published by Green Church in Canada.
• A good virtual series from the Huffington Post with interesting reflections to meditate on.

From South America

• A very powerful presentation of the stations from the perspective of liberation theology by Adolfo Pérez Esquivel of Argentina.
• This video is one of the first I put together with photos my friend, Tom Balke, took on a trip to Ecuador of artwork from Oscar Guayasamin. There is no music but I think it provides a powerful silent meditation for this season.

From Asia

• I enjoyed meditating on this series by a nun in Bangalore India.
• And another very beautiful, Korean Stations of the Cross by Korean sculptor Choi Jong-tae from Myeong-dong Cathedral.
• This very powerful Stations of the Cross uses the story of Filipino indigenous people as the backdrop for the Stations of the Cross.https://youtu.be/a6xnReBmht8

From Africa

• I love this stations of the cross from Hekima College, Nairobi, Kenya. The designs were created by Father Angelbert M. Vang SJ from Yaoude, from the Cameroon who was a well-known historian, poet, musician and designer and executed by a Kenyan artist.
• From Nigeria: The Fourteen Stations of the Cross – “This rare set of linocuts was printed in 1969 in several editions of about fifty by Bruce Onobrakpeya, an Urhobo man who has become Nigeria’s mast famous – and arguably best – artist.”

From U.K.

• This Stations of the Cross series by Chris Gollon was commissioned by the Church of England for the Church of St. John on Bethnal Green, in East London. Gollon took the unusual step of using his own son as the model for Jesus, his daughter as Mary, and his wife as Veronica. Fr Alan Green is cast as Nicodemus, and David Tregunna (Gollon’s friend and agent) as Joseph of Arimathea. The juxtaposition of real figures with imagined ones creates a heightened sense of reality. I think that the images are both compelling and powerful.
• This series by David O’Connell hangs in St. Richards Chichester is another powerful series.
• Another series by Linda Sallnow in London.

From Europe

The Stations of the Cross by Karel Stadnik, 1973-5, Church of the Virgin Mary in Lhotka, Prague. This is a unique interpretation of the stations in which the a synthetic resin sculpter at each station depicts a different episode of human suffering. The traditional titles of the stations are what helps the observer to make the connection with the life of Christ. According to the web site, “The work was the idea of the local priest Vladimir Rudolf, during the difficult period after Soviet tanks had crushed the “Prague Spring”.”

For Kids: 

• Catholic Mom has helpful books and Stations of the Cross for Kids.
• Check out this family Bible study for younger kids set up like stations of the cross.
• Multimedia Stations of the Cross from Loyola Press.

Virtual stations online:

• An excellent online video presentation from Jeruslaem.com I have not watched all of it yet but enjoyed what I watched.
• And from Jonny Baker in England a great idea – QR Stations of the Cross.
• And from Busted Halo as always, an excellent set of virtual stations of the cross. These stations relate to Jesus’ teachings about the Kingdom of God and the reason his vision of this Kingdom led to his death. Find a quiet place to watch these stations, and as you do the devotions be open to how God is speaking to you through the Stations of the Cross.

Here is the first meditation:

This is part of this series on Resources for Holy Week. All the posts are available through our Church Calendar resource centre.