Neighborhood Stations of the Cross make Lenten devotional visible on the streets

During Lent, three wooden crosses stand at the edge of the Dickherber family’s yard.

From their corner yard, all are invited into prayer and contemplation by walking the Way of the Cross, right there in the quiet St. Charles subdivision.

Camie Dickherber is in her third year coordinating a neighborhood Stations of the Cross. The idea came to her as she lamented how difficult it was to find a good time to take her six young children to a traditional Stations of the Cross prayer service at a church; the opportunities seemed to all fall during nap time, dinner time or bedtime, she said.

So one morning, it hit her: What if she could bring the stations to her family? Not knowing exactly how it would take shape, she bought a set of Stations of the Cross art prints for $7 on Etsy, then printed and laminated them. Then, with a couple of free hours on a Saturday and a baby in a stroller, she set off down the street to ask neighbors if they could place a station in their yard.

“I started knocking on doors, and no one said no,” said Dickherber, a parishioner at St. Peter in St. Charles.

Starting at Dickherber’s home, visitors can pick up a map of the stations, then walk along the sidewalks to 14 homes in the neighborhood, each with a station sign. This year, she upgraded to printed yard signs; some households on the route have simply placed their signs in their yard, while others have added purple ribbon or cloth or placed them near other religious images like a statue of the Blessed Mother.

The stations are up throughout Lent so families or groups can come whenever best fits their schedule. This year, Dickherber also created an online version of the map and a website with more information to help spread the word, including confession times for three nearby parishes to encourage people to partake in the sacrament of reconciliation.

The neighborhood stations have been a way for visitors and homeowners to encounter Christ, Dickherber said.

“We’ve had neighbors this year that aren’t even Catholic, that wanted to be part of it just because they thought it was so beautiful, and that was something that was really neat. It’s a good evangelization tool,” she said. “…One gentleman who has a station in his yard, he told us the first year, he had not been to church in like 15 years, and now he comes out every time someone stops at their house and he’ll pray with them. It’s just so fun how God provides when He has a mission.”

As the starting point on the route, sometimes Dickherber has the chance to strike up conversations with people as they start or end the stations. “Some are Catholic, some are not. Some are just, during Lent, toying with the idea of coming back to the Church. And that’s been really beautiful, just to be here and to chat with them,” she said.

“I didn’t know what I was doing when I got started—I just thought it was a crazy idea, and just seeing it all come together is more than what I could have ever imagined,” she added.

Last spring, Barb Huelsing and three fellow parishioners at Assumption Parish in south St. Louis County — Sarah Behnen, Amy Catalano and Sandy Welkener — visited the St. Charles neighborhood Stations of the Cross. They enjoyed the prayer experience so much that they wanted to bring it back to their home parish, Huelsing said.

And they did, rallying fellow parishioners in Huelsing’s neighborhood just east of the Assumption Parish campus to participate. Visitors can pick up a map under the white crucifix on the north side of the parish rectory, then head through an opening in the cedar fence to start down the neighborhood sidewalk. The 1.2-mile loop route ends on the opposite side of the street at the same point.

Men from the Assumption ACTS retreat community pitched in and made wooden crosses to place next to each station, making them easily visible to walkers and drivers. The station signs also include a prayer, attached by Velcro so people can take it off to read it, and are illuminated by solar lights after dark.

For families with children, they also incorporated a children’s word scramble: one letter at each station is highlighted. Kids can write down the highlighted letters, then at the end, unscramble the letters to form a simple message (no spoilers here!). Families can email Huelsing with the answer to be entered into a drawing for small prizes.

Huelsing has seen people of all ages praying the stations around the neighborhood, she said. One day, she noticed a group of four children walking the stations and acting them out. One girl had a blue shawl on her head. “She knelt down like she was Mary when they were at station four, when Mary meets Jesus,” she said. “They said, ‘do you care if we act out the stations?’ I said ‘no, that’s fantastic.’ That just really warmed my heart.”

For the young, old and everyone in between, Huelsing hopes the neighborhood stations can serve as a reminder of how much God loves us.

“Just knowing the suffering that He went through, for me is such an impact on my heart, and it just gives me the desire to be a good Catholic for Him. It enriches my faith, and it increases my love,” she said. “I’m just in awe that someone would do that for me, and also it does make me think about my own sins that are in my life and how those have caused Him pain. It makes you want to repent, to not sin again, and try to do the best that you can.”

St. Charles area Stations of the Cross

Starting point: 1120 Lancaster Drive, St. Charles, MO 63301

For more information, including the map of the stations, visit walkingstations.my.canva.site.

Assumption neighborhood Stations of the Cross

Starting point: Outside Assumption Parish rectory, 4725 Mattis Road, St. Louis, MO 63128

For online map and directions, visit assumptionstl.org/neighborhood-stations.