Friday, April 18, 2014

Chemin de Croix, Chapelle des Jésuites, Québec

Chemin de Croix, Chapelle des Jésuites, Québec

In the Jesuit Chapel located in the city of Québec, there is a rather powerful set of the Stations of Cross, handcarved by a wood sculptor named Médard Bourgault (1897-1967).  The original carvings were intended for another site, and when they were moved to the Jesuit Chapel, they were judged to be a bit too small and plain for the space, so (as my guide told me when I visited) members of Médard Bourgault's family, also woodcarvers, added figures to either side of each central scene, fictional spectators, if you will, to Jesus's Way of the Cross.  Contemplating these supplemental figures -- their physical gestures and postures, their emotions, their faces -- might inspire a new relationship to the Stations themselves in us as we, too, walk the Way this Good Friday. (Click on each image to enlarge it.)

1.  Jesus is condemned to die.

2.  Jesus carries his cross.

3.  Jesus falls the first time.

4.  Jesus meets his mother.

5.  Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross.

6.  Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.

7.  Jesus falls the second time.

8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem.

9.  Jesus falls the third time.

10.  Jesus is stripped of his clothing.

11.  Jesus is crucified.

12.  Jesus dies.

13.  Jesus is taken down from the cross.

14.  Jesus is laid in the tomb.

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