Via Dolorosa, 3rd Station of the Cross - A Polish-Catholic chapel

Abstract

~The Via Dolorosa indicates the approximate route Jesus followed while bearing the burden of the cross, from the Antonia Fortress to the Calvary. The route consists of 14 stations. The way starts next to the Muslim quarter, and finishes next to the Christian Quarter of the Ancient City of Jerusalem. According to tradition, on this spot Jesus keeled over for the first time under the weight of the cross he bore. On site there is a 19th-century Polish-Catholic Chapel which was built by Armenian Catholics based in Poland. The chapel was renovated in 1948 with the financial aid of the Polish Army. This chapel is the seat of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate. In earlier times, a Turkish bath stood on this site, and probably also a Byzantine chapel and a Crusader church.