THE STORY OF THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS
On September 3, 1998, Francis Cardinal George, OMI, dedicated the restored Stations of the Cross. As the Cardinal waked down the aisle to bless each station, he began to pause longer and longer at each one. When he arrived at Station #9, he stopped completely and was intrigued by the silver helmet on the head of one of the soldiers. He then completed blessing the balance of the stations. Near the conclusion of the dedication ceremony, Fr. Tom Conde revealed that the Stations originally hung in St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Illinois. The Archbishop slapped his knee and grinned from ear to ear. Cardinal George then stood and told the congregation HIS history of those very stations.
As a teenager, the Archbishop was stricken with polio, which necessitated many prolonged hospital stays. In those days, patients were isolated for fear of infection. The nurses would wheel him down to the hospital chapel just to get him out of his room and give him a change of scenery. To occupy his time, he would pray the rosary and the Stations of the Cross -- THESE VERY STATIONS which now hung on the walls of St. James! He was so pleased to see them again!
The Stations of the Cross were completely restored in January, 1998. It took Mr. Robert Widiger from Creative Care Restoration in Highland, Indiana, 14 months to complete the work. He said that he really enjoyed doing the restoration because the stations were so beautiful and sturdy. Please keep in your prayers the intentions and the donors that made this project possible.
"Used with permission of the Author"
As a teenager, the Archbishop was stricken with polio, which necessitated many prolonged hospital stays. In those days, patients were isolated for fear of infection. The nurses would wheel him down to the hospital chapel just to get him out of his room and give him a change of scenery. To occupy his time, he would pray the rosary and the Stations of the Cross -- THESE VERY STATIONS which now hung on the walls of St. James! He was so pleased to see them again!
The Stations of the Cross were completely restored in January, 1998. It took Mr. Robert Widiger from Creative Care Restoration in Highland, Indiana, 14 months to complete the work. He said that he really enjoyed doing the restoration because the stations were so beautiful and sturdy. Please keep in your prayers the intentions and the donors that made this project possible.
"Used with permission of the Author"
Origins of the Stations of the Cross
The Stations of the Cross finds its roots with the Franciscans who helped rebuild the Christian sites of the Holy Land following the medieval Crusades. Given the prominence of Christ’s passion within Franciscan spirituality, the order encouraged pilgrims in Jerusalem to journey along Christ’s way to Calvary. While it began as a pious devotion, its enduring relevance in the Christian life, however, caused the devotion to spread. Over time, the pope gave Franciscans the prerogative to erect “stations” of the cross for popular devotion in parishes the world over. Eventually, the role of the Franciscans was eliminated, and yet it is hard to find a parish building or complex that does not have the Stations of the Cross.