History and Spread of 'Stations of the Cross" Explored in New Book
LAWRENCE — Nearly every Catholic church in the world displays paintings, windows, plaques or statues that depict the Stations of the Cross. But how exactly this pervasive (and surprisingly modern) devotion came to be is the subject of a new book.
“The Stations of the Cross in Colonial Mexico: The Via crucis en mexicano by Fray Agustin de Vetancurt and the Spread of a Devotion” (University of Oklahoma Press) investigates the history and spread of this practice, which traces the plaintive path of Jesus Christ from condemnation to crucifixion.