STATIONS OF THE CROSS

Students might be interested in knowing the "14 Stations of the Cross" (the "Via Crucis," or Way of the Cross). These are places set up in Catholic churches where one waits or stands "stationary" in order to reflect on each stage of Jesus' Passion (suffering).
     This is part of Catholic observance and these Stations influenced Mel Gibson, who tried to turn his film The Passion of the Christ into a kind of movie version of the Stations of the Cross.
     The sixth station of the Cross is without basis, either in a gospel or anywhere else. It seems to be a Catholic invention to justify a relic ("Veronica's Veil") with which Jesus supposedly wiped his face during his Passion.