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Students 4-6

Grade 5 Chapter 7


A Stations of the Cross Pilgrimage
See the Stations!

A pilgrimage is a journey to a distant sacred place. But it's more than a vacation. A pilgrimage allows us to leave our everyday lives behind and travel to a holy place where we can pray and listen to what God is telling us. On a pilgrimage, we can remember the sacred events that happened there.

People have been going on pilgrimages since the days of the Old Testament. In the time of Jesus, the Jewish people made pilgrimages to Jerusalem three times a year to celebrate three of their most sacred festivals.

As Christianity grew, Christians throughout the world would travel, often on foot, to the holy sites in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. They went to remember the sacred events that led up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

However, not all Christians were able to travel to the Holy Land on a pilgrimage. It was for them that the Stations of the Cross were begun. These fourteen pictures, each depicting one scene from Jesus' journey to Calvary, are displayed on the inside walls of churches. Sometimes the Stations of the Cross are built outdoors along the pathways of parish grounds or retreat houses or other religious places. Now everyone can make a pilgrimage by walking from station to station, recalling Jesus' final hours on earth.

Download and print the activity below and follow the instructions.