15 STATIONS OF THE CROSS IN TRIM COUNTY MEATH
It was very difficult to photograph these using a 20mm lens and also because they were high on the wall and there was also a lot of reflected light off the glass covering.
My understanding is that when Trim Castle Hotel was constructed it was necessary to replace a wall partly owned by the church so as compensation the builders undertook to provide the ’stations of the cross’ shown in my photographs.
Fr, Andy Farrell was parish priest in Trim from 1994 to 2008 and celebrated the golden jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood in 2007. After being ordained in 1957, Fr Farrell spent five years in the USA, was then appointed a chaplain to Navan Hospital and also spent a year teaching in St Finian’s College. Fr Farrell returned to Navan where he was based for 25 years, and was subsequently appointed parish priest in Kingscourt, his last parish before moving to Trim. He died at the age of 87 on the 16th October 2018.
The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitations of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, which is a traditional processional route symbolising the actual path Jesus walked to Mount Calvary. The objective of the stations is to help the Christian faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Passion of Christ. It has become one of the most popular devotions and the stations can be found in many Western Christian churches, including those in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist traditions.
The early set of seven scenes was usually numbers 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11 and 14 from the list below. From the late 16th century to the present, the standard complement has consisted of 14 pictures or sculptures depicting the following scenes:
(01) Jesus is condemned to death
(02) Jesus takes up his Cross
(03) Jesus falls for the first time
(04) Jesus meets his Mother
(05) Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the Cross
(06) Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
(07) Jesus falls for the second time
(08) Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
(09) Jesus falls for the third time
(10) Jesus is stripped of his garments (sometimes called the “Division of Robes”)
(11) Jesus is nailed to the Cross
(12) Jesus dies on the Cross
(13) Jesus is taken down from the Cross
(14) Jesus is laid in the tomb
John Paul II urged Catholics to add a 15th station, Christ’s Resurrection, to the Stations of the Cross. The 15th Station is not required, and anyone may pray either number, or go back and forth between 14 and 15. Many parishes that have a 15th Station omit it on Good Friday.
