Stations of the Cross is (the use of) the "New Way of the Cross" being recited exclusively in the Philippines and by Filipinos abroad. The Stations of the Resurrection (also known by the Latin name of "Via Lucis," Way of Light) are used in some churches at Eastertide to meditate on the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ. Franz Liszt wrote a "Via crucis" for choir, soloists and piano or organ or harmonium in 1879. In 1931, French organist Marcel Dupré improvised and transcribed musical meditations based on fourteen poems by Paul Claudel, one for each station. Peter Maxwell Davies's "Vesalii Icones" (1969), for
Stations of the Cross in his last years when age and infirmity limited his strength, John Paul presided over the celebration from a stage on the Palatine Hill, while others carried the cross. Just days prior to his death in 2005, Pope John Paul II observed the Stations of the Cross from his private chapel. Each year a different person is invited to write the meditation texts for the Stations. Past composers of the Papal Stations include several non-Catholics. The pope himself wrote the texts for the Great Jubilee in 2000 and used the traditional Stations. The celebration of the Stations of the Cross