When, from about the fourth century on, Christians began making pilgrimages to the Holy Land, one of the most popular practices was to walk the path that Jesus was thought to have walked as he carried his cross through the streets of Jerusalem.
Three centuries later, the Holy Land was taken over by the Muslims. Beginning in the 11th century, Christian armies were formed to try to retake the Holy Land from the Muslims and maintain it as a Christian state. They had some successes, but were unable to achieve long-term control.
These "crusades" ultimately failed, but those who participated in them, having themselves walked the "way of the cross," returned home and began the practice of building tableaux representing the places where Jesus passed on the way to his death. The number of these "stations" (literally, "stopping places") varied widely.
in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Church gradually settled on the 14 stations that have become standard.
- Little Black Book, Diocese of Saginaw