During the time of the Crusades (1095-1270), it was popular for pilgrims to the Holy Land to walk to Calvary in the footsteps of Jesus. In the next two centuries, after the Muslims recaptured the Holy Land, pilgrimages were too dangerous. A substitute pilgrimage, the Stations of the Cross, also called the Way of the Cross, became a popular outdoor devotion throughout Europe during the Middle Ages.

Today some churches have depictions of the stations indoors, while others have walks or gardens with statues for each station. These portray the events from Jesus’s condemnation by Pilate to his resurrection.

The stations are: (1) Jesus is condemned to death, (2) Jesus takes up his cross, (3) Jesus falls the first time, (4) Jesus meets his mother, (5) Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the cross, (6) Veronica wipes Jesus’s face, (7) Jesus falls the second time, (8) the women of Jerusalem weep over Jesus, (9) Jesus falls the third time, (10) Jesus is stripped of his garments, (11) Jesus is nailed to the cross, (12) Jesus dies on the cross, (13) Jesus is taken down from the cross, (14) Jesus is placed in the tomb and, (15) The Resurrection.