Stations of the Cross Stabat Mater, composed in the 13th century by Franciscan Jacopone da Todi. James Matthew Wilson's poetic sequence, "The Stations of the Cross", is written in the same meter as da Todi's poem. Dimitris Lyacos' third part of the Poena Damni trilogy, The First Death, is divided in fourteen sections in order to emphasise the "Via Dolorosa" of its marooned protagonist during his ascent on the mount of the island which constitutes the setting of the work. These fourteen sites along the Via Dolorosa are where the events of the Stations of the Cross happened, according to tradition. These 14 stops
Stations of the Resurrection from it, so as to emphasise the positive, hopeful aspect of the Christian story which, though not absent from the Stations of the Cross, is obscured by their emphasis upon suffering. The first major public celebration of this devotion was in 1990, after which it gained greater currency. In December 2001, the Holy See promulgated a "Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy", which commended the "Via Lucis" as follows: A pious exercise called the "Via Lucis" has developed and spread to many regions in recent years. Following the model of the "Via Crucis", the faithful process while meditating on