Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
About 50 or 60 yards up from Station 5 on the Via Dolorosa St., Station 6 marks a tradition that is not referenced in the Bible, at least not in the crucifixion narrative.
There is no reference to a Veronica in the biblical narrative at all, however there is talk of her in some of the apocryphal texts. Namely the Gospel of Nicodemus, which was written by Eusebius of Caesarea in the early 4th century.
As the story goes, seeing Jesus suffering, Veronica felt compassion and offered her veil so he could wipe his face. When he handed the veil back to her, his face was imprinted on it.
Because Veronica is not mentioned in the biblical text, Eusebius and other extra-biblical texts connect her with the woman who suffered from constant bleeding. This story is found in Matthew 9:20–22; Mark 5:25–34; and Luke 8:43–48).
Station 6 is an easy station to miss, so don’t look for the wooden door that marks the chapel, but rather the baby blue door next to it. Both are on the left side of the pathway if you are heading west towards the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Look up and you’ll see the disk with the Roman numeral 6 on it.
Tradition states that this is the location where the home of Veronica stood. The Chapel at Station 6 is much like many of the others. Its hours are difficult to pin down.
Continue heading west up the Via Dolorosa St. as it inclines a bit.
- What is the Via Dolorosa?
- Station 1: Jesus is condemned to death
- Station 2: Jesus takes up his cross
- Station 3: Jesus falls for the first time
- Station 4: Jesus meets his mother
- Station 5: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus
- Station 6: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
- Station 7: Jesus falls for the second time
- Station 8: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
- Station 9: Jesus falls for the third time
- Station 10: Jesus is stripped of his garments
- Station 11: Jesus is nailed to the Cross
- Station 12: Jesus dies on the Cross
- Station 13: Jesus is taken down from the cross
- Station 14: Jesus is laid in the tomb