Stations of the Cross: Traditional and Biblical
In 1991 Pope John Paul II instituted a new series of fourteen Stations of Cross, each of which was based on Scripture alone. The traditional Catholic Stations included a number of episodes that were passed on in early Christian tradition but not found in the biblical gospels.
The chart below shows both the traditional and the revised stations (with Scripture references; these Scripture references come from the 2004 version of the Pope’s Stations of the Cross. The 1991 version had the same basic headings, but some different biblical texts.):
| Traditional | Biblical | |
| 1. Jesus is condemned to death | 1. Jesus on the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39-46) | |
| 2. Jesus takes up his cross | 2. Jesus, betrayed by Judas, is arrested (Luke 22:47-48) | |
| 3. Jesus falls for the first time | 3. Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin (Luke 22:66-71) | |
| 4. Jesus meets his mother | 4. Peter denies Jesus (Luke 22:54-62) | |
| 5. Jesus is helped by Simon the Cyrene to carry his cross | 5. Jesus is judged by Pilate (Luke 23:13-25) | |
| 6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus | 6. Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns (Luke 22:63-65; John 19:2-3) | |
| 7. Jesus falls for the second time | 7. Jesus takes up the cross (Mark 15:20) | |
| 8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem | 8. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross (Luke 23:26) | |
| 9. Jesus falls for the third time | 9. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem (Luke 23:27-31) | |
| 10. Jesus is stripped of his garments | 10. Jesus is crucified (Luke 23:33, 47) | |
| 11. Jesus is nailed to the cross | 11. Jesus promises his kingdom to the good thief (Luke 23:33-34, 39-43) | |
| 12. Jesus dies on the cross | 12. Jesus on the cross, his mother and his disciple (John 19:25-27) | |
| 13. Jesus is taken down from the cross and given to his mother | 13. Jesus dies on the cross (Luke 23:44-46) | |
| 14. Jesus is laid in the tomb | 14. Jesus is placed in the tomb (Luke 23:50-54) |