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 on the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39-46) | ||
| 2. Jesus, betrayed by Judas, is arrested (Luke 22:47-48) | ||
| 3. Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin (Luke 22:66-71) | ||
| 4. Peter denies Jesus (Luke 22:54-62) | ||
| 1. Jesus is condemned to death | 5. Jesus is judged by Pilate (Luke 23:13-25) | |
| 6. Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns (Luke 22:63-65; John 19:2-3) | ||
| 2. Jesus takes up his cross | 7. Jesus takes up the cross (Mark 15:20) | |
| 3. Jesus falls for the first time | ||
| 4. Jesus meets his mother | ||
| 5. Jesus is helped by Simon the Cyrene to carry his cross | 8. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross (Luke 23:26) | |
| 6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus | ||
| 7. Jesus falls for the second time | ||
| 8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem | 9. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem (Luke 23:27-31) | |
| 9. Jesus falls for the third time | ||
| 10. Jesus is stripped of his garments | ||
| 11. Jesus is nailed to the cross | 10. Jesus is crucified (Luke 23:33, 47) | |
| 11. Jesus promises his kingdom to the good thief (Luke 23:33-34, 39-43) | ||
| 12. Jesus on the cross, his mother and his disciple (John 19:25-27) | ||
| 12. Jesus dies on the cross | 13. Jesus dies on the cross (Luke 23:44-46) | |
| 13. Jesus is taken down from the cross and given to his mother | ||
| 14. Jesus is laid in the tomb | 14. Jesus is placed in the tomb (Luke 23:50-54) |