'May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.'
St Paul - Galatians 6:14
​The Stations of the Cross is a Catholic devotion whereby we walk with Jesus in His Suffering & Death.  Each station focuses on a specific moment on His last day, starting with his condemnation and ending with the laying of His body in the tomb.  At each station we mediate on each moment, reflecting on the love Jesus shows us on this journey.  We recite specific prayers and then move on to the next station.  In most Catholic churches, the Stations of the Cross are depicted around the walls of the church.  Whilst this devotion is particularly appropriate on Fridays during the season of Lent, it can also be prayed by individuals or groups at any time of the year.

The Stations of the Cross in Plymouth Cathedral

I - Jesus is Condemned to Death

Consider how Jesus, after having been scourged and crowned with thorns, was unjustly condemned by Pilate to die on the Cross.

II - Jesus Receives the Cross

Consider how Jesus, in making this journey with the Cross on His shoulders, thought of us, and offered for us to His Father the death He was about to undergo.

III - Jesus Falls the First Time

Consider this first fall of Jesus under the Cross.  His flesh was torn by the scourges, His head was crowned with thorns; He had lost a great quantity of blood.  So weakened He could scarcely walk, He yet had to carry this great load upon His shoulders.  The soldiers struck Him rudely and He fell several times.

IV - Jesus Meets His Mother

Consider the meeting of the Son and the Mother, which took place on this journey.  Their looks became like so many arrows to wound those hearts which love each other so tenderly.

V - Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus

Consider how His cruel tormentors, seeing Jesus was on the point of expiring, and fearing He would die on the way, whereas they wished Him to die the shameful death of the Cross, constrained Simon of Cyrene to carry the Cross behind Our Lord.

VI - Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

Consider how the holy woman named Veronica, seeing Jesus so ill-used, and bathed in sweat and blood, wiped His face with a towel, on which was left the impression of His holy countenance.

VII - Jesus Falls the Second Time

Consider the second fall of Jesus under the Cross; a fall which renews the pain of all the wounds in His head and members.

VIII - Jesus Speaks to the Women

Consider how these women wept with compassion at seeing Jesus in such a pitiable state, streaming with blood as He walked along.  'Daughters of Jerusalem' He said, 'weep not for Me, but for yourselves and for your children'.

IX - Jesus Falls the Third Time

Consider the third fall of Jesus Christ.  His weakness was extreme, and the cruelty of His executioners excessive, who tried to hasten His steps when He could scarcely move.

X - Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

Consider the violence with which Jesus was tripped by the executioners.  His inner garments adhered to His torn flesh, and they dragged them off so roughly that the skin came with them.  Compassionate your Saviour, thus cruelly treated.

XI - Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

Consider how Jesus, having been placed upon the Cross, extended His hands, and offered to His Eternal Father the sacrifice of His life for our salvation.  Those barbarians fastened Him with nails, and then, securing the Cross, allowed Him to die with anguish on this infamous gibbet.

XII - Jesus Dies on the Cross

Consider how Jesus, being consumed with anguish after three hours' agony on the Cross, abandoned Himself to the weight of His body, bowed His head and died.

XIII - Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross

Consider how, after Our Lord had expired, two of His disciples, Joseph and Nicodemus, took Him down from the Cross, and placed Him in the arms of His afflicted Mother, who received Him with unutterable tenderness, and pressed Him to her bosom.

XIV - Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

Consider how the disciples accompanied by His holy Mother, carried the body of Jesus to bury it.  They closed the tomb, and all came sorrowfully away.

History of our Stations

Joseph Cribb (1892-1967) designed and carved our stations (pictured below) in his workshop in Ditchling, Sussex in 1956. Joseph Cribb trained under Eric Gill (1882-1940) during 1906-1913.  He then established his own workshop, often assisting Gill, but also creating his own inscriptions and sculptures.

As well as carving the Plymouth stations, he made another eighteen sets for other churches across Britain, and one set for a mission church in Nigeria.  He also assisted Eric Gill in carving the Stations in Westminster Cathedral and carved those in the Catholic church in Leatherhead to Gill's designs.  Joseph and Eric became founder members of the Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic in 1920.  This was a community of Catholic craft workers, all lay members of the Dominican Order.  Joseph remained a leading member of the guild until his death.