August 11, 2011. (Romereports.com) On August 19th, World Youth Day is planning on celebrating the Stations of the Cross in Madrid. All 14 stations will represent and honor the Passion of Christ. The journey will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Plaza de Colón. It will go through the Paseo de Recoletos and end at the Plaza de Cibeles.


In total 15 sculptures from Spain's Holy week will be present in the event, all from 12 different cities. The older images are from the 17th century, wich have great artistic, cultural and of course historic value. In fact, it's the first time they'll be taken out of their corresponding city.

To protect them against the weather, each sculpture will be placed in a type of canopy. The brackets will be red and white. And in the back, text from the Gospel will be included.

The Pope will preside over the Statios of the Cross along with the Archobishop of Madrid, cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela. A group of youth from 15 countries will bear the Cross of Pilgrims, which is the symbol of the WYD. Those 15 chosen countries will represent different nations where the Church is facing challenges. The group will stop at each station to say a quick prayer prepared by the Sisters of the Cross of Sevilla.

The journey will end with a prayer before the famous passage of the image of Our Lady of Solitude from Sevilla.


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