Fourth Station of the Cross
Jesus meets his mother
There are a series of pictures representing certain aspects in the Passion of Christ, and each one corresponds to a particular incident.
This series is known as The Way of the Cross and this page introduces the Fourth Station.
Fourth Station
He meets his mother
Next to the chapel of the Cyrenian is the Fourth Station where you can find a small oratory at the back of the inner court with a beautiful sculpture in a semicircle (lunette) above the entrance. This pays tribute to Jesus' mother Mary, when she met him. (Like the Third Station, this is not mentioned in the Gospels).
Can we imagine the anguish of any mother who loves her son, to see him treated so wickedly? It takes amazing strength for a parent to witness such terrible events. Yet there is a maternal urge to do whatever she can to comfort and support him. Especially for Mary, who loved Jesus so sincerely, as a mother and as one who knew who Jesus really was.
And Jesus could see the tears Mary shed, adding to the agony he was bearing.
The tenderness of their hearts was so apparent to each other; there was no need for words. And this is something we can all strive to do - to be there for each other, to demonstrate our love not just through words, not just through actions, but through our open hearts.
