Station 13

Jesus is taken down from the Cross

Jesus is taken down from the cross and held by His mother. The landscape surrounding the scene is transformed from Mount Golgotha to the earth and the universe.

Mary is depicted as Mary, Queen of the Universe with twelve stars appearing above her head.

Revelation 12:1

A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

St Matthew, the evangelist with his symbol the small angel.

In his book, he has written:

Matthew 19:4-6

He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”

St Mark, the evangelist with his symbol the winged lion.

In his book, he has written:

Mark 13:24-27

“But in those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather [his] elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.

St Luke, the evangelist with his symbol the winged ox.

In his book, he has written:

Luke 21:25-28

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”

St John, the evangelist with his symbol the eagle.

In his book, he has written:

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Angels descend from a heavenly plain, described by clouds and angels. The hand of God is shown creating the universe.

The Saints

Surrounding Christ as His body is being taken down from the cross are over a hundred and thirty Saints and religious figures represented from all historical periods and all parts of the world.