New Stations of the Cross unveiled in time for Lent

Jesus seems so close — only a few feet away — as depicted at the eleventh Station of the Cross in St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison. The black-and-white drawing shows him lying down on the cross as a Roman soldier drives a nail through his wrist — from eye level.

This eleventh Station, “Jesus is Nailed to the Cross,” is part of a set of 14 new Stations at St. Paul’s that present a unique view of the Passion of Christ. These beautiful, stark works show Jesus’ suffering and death as if those looking at them are in the crowd — or involved in the Crucifixion. They show in detail the pain of the Passion — from the wincing of Jesus to the tears of the Blessed Mother.

Visitors of St. Paul’s are invited to walk, pray, and meditate with the new Stations — a spiritual journey that takes them through the center’s main building. It starts in the first-floor foyer, moves upstairs to the second floor, and ends in the first-floor chapel. Created by Allison Gildea, a leader in St. Paul’s Young Adult Ministry, the Stations debuted on March 8 with 30 people participating.

“The Stations are striking. They focus on their subjects close up. You can see their agony and sadness,” said Christopher Caulfield, Young Adult Ministry co-leader.

Gildea, a public school art teacher and illustrator, made the images at the request of the other ministry co-leader, Stacy Nolan. St. Paul’s framed the prints and plans to make a permanent display. The artist called working on the pieces “a challenge, journey, and ultimately, a profound blessing to me.” She visited many churches to study and pray over their Stations for inspiration.

One admirer of the new Stations is Brian Honsberger, St. Paul’s executive director and diocesan director of mission and technology integration.

“It’s a faith-builder. These images take viewers off balance. They show a different perspective of Christ’s suffering. It feels close to the Passion of AD 33,” Honsberger said.

‘We put our mark on it.’

Visitors could mistake the 14 new Stations of the Cross recently installed in the chapel in Morris Catholic High School (MCHS) in Denville as hand-painted stained-glass windows. The pieced-together patterns of bright blues, whites, browns, and yellows in the Stations light up the worship space as if they were letting in sunlight.

That’s an illusion because the Stations’ 4-foot-high and 31-inch-wide panels of heavy canvas were hand-painted by teams of students. Then, custodians hung the Stations in the chapel in time for Lent. This was the “final touch” made to the chapel, which Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney dedicated in the spring of 2022.

The depictions of the Passion of Jesus were based on illustrations that Arlene Sullivan, MCHS’ visual- and graphic-arts teacher, made for “The Spiritual Journey of the Stations of the Cross,” a book written by Dan Grant in 2009. She drew outlines of the scenes on canvas and color-coded each piece. Then the students who volunteered painted the pieces. Sullivan touched up the work before applying a varnish coat.

“It was a great way for us to come together for an activity — for something we did ourselves,” said Valarie Sorrento, a senior and one of the artists. “The simple and abstract design reminds us of every step [of the Passion of Jesus].”

The project was coordinated by Sullivan and Susan Drew, campus minister. Originally, the students painted the Stations to replace murals that used to be displayed in MCHS’ gym for Masses at Lent. Impressed, Father Peter Clarke, president, instead decided that the Stations would adorn the new chapel.

“I’m proud of what the students accomplished,” Father Clarke said. “The blue and wood tones in the chapel compliment the Stations. They are beautiful visualizations of the Passion. They make the chapel brighter.”

On Friday afternoons during Lent, a group of students already has been praying the Stations.

“The students get to look, pray, and meditate on each mystery of the Passion of the Cross. They ultimately see beyond to the Resurrection and see that Easter always comes,” Father Clarke said.

Pleased, Sullivan said the Stations “take my breath away. This makes a difference in the school community. This belongs to us. This came from us. We put our mark on it,” Sullivan said.