Stations of the Cross
The Stations of the Cross at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe are located just past the Shrine Church and adjacent to the Rosary Walk. Winding through the wooded landscape of the Wisconsin hills, the fourteen bronze Stations are mounted in alcoves of indigenous stone and are each flanked by stone benches to allow pilgrims a place of rest and contemplation. The Stations were designed by Anthony Visco of Atelier of the Sacred Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were dedicated on the feast of Saint Juan Diego, December 9, 2004, by Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke.
Pilgrims enter the Stations through the Way of the Cross Archway, which was blessed by Cardinal Burke on December 12, 2015.
On each side of the archway are bronze panels depicting Bernini’s Angels of the Passion of the Ponte Sant’Angelo at the Vatican. The four angels hold eleven instruments and symbols of the Passion. The number eleven signifies the number of Christ’s Apostles, excluding Judas. Facing the Archway, the panel on the left side shows the angel holding the column of Christ’s scourging and the whip. The right panel shows the angel holding the Cross with INRI inscription and the nails. On the other side of the Archway, the panel on the left side shows the angel holding the spear, sponge, and crown of thorns. On the right panel, the angel holds Veronica’s cloth, and at her feet are Christ’s robe and the dice that shows the total number eleven, again symbolizing the eleven Apostles.
The Stations are an integral part of the Shrine as a place of pilgrimage. During his homily at the Archway’s blessing, Cardinal Burke said:
“Walking through the Archway, we begin our contemplative prayer at each of the fourteen Stations, and we come to understand more fully the profound meaning of our life pilgrimage, along which Christ accompanies us, urging us to take up our Cross with Him, in order that we may find joy and peace in this life, and reach our final destiny, our true and lasting home with God the Father.”
“The Stations of the Cross are a most treasured devotion in the Church,” explains Cardinal Burke. “This devotion assists us in a direct and practical way to meditate upon all that it meant for Our Lord to suffer and die for us, to save us from our sins and to win for us the gift of everlasting life. When we cannot travel to the actual places in the Holy Land where Our Lord accomplished our salvation, we are able to make the Way of the Cross, mystically uniting ourselves to the Lord in the very places made holy by Him Who is All Holy. Walking and praying the Way of the Cross brings us to an encounter with God’s love for us, His providence in our lives, His example of Mercy poured forth from His pierced side, the Fountain of Mercy at the moment of His death!”
After completing the Stations, pilgrims can continue to the Rosary Walk or return to the Shrine Church.