A NURSE’S WAY

Stations of the Cross for nurses set for March 13

Volunteers and readers from A Nurse’s Way of the Cross at St. Jude the Apostle in Wynantskill are shown after the 2025 event. (Provided photo)

The Lenten season in the Albany Diocese always brings its own familiar rituals. Whether it’s parish Fish Fridays or preparations for Easter Sunday, Lent calendar items fill our church schedules for the next 40 days — including a beloved favorite: the Stations of the Cross. 

And on Friday, March 13, nurses and health care professionals — or non-medical field professionals alike — are invited to St. Jude the Apostle in Wynantskill for “A Nurse’s Way of the Cross” at 6:30 p.m.

A Nurse’s Way of the Cross, which started at St. Jude in 2017, is a special presentation of the Stations of the Cross through the eyes of a modern-day nurse. Each station is related to a medical story that nurses experience, and the parallel between the two helps to drive home the importance of the field.

“It’s very meaningful, it sort of reconfirms us as nurses of why we do what we do,” said Johanna Flanigan, parish trustee and parish nurse at St. Jude the Apostle and coordinator for the event. “It is God’s work, there’s no two ways about it.”

 At the second station, where Jesus takes up his Cross, a reading is done about nurses having to tell their patient that her breast cancer has spread, taking up a cross of her own. At the sixth station, where Veronica wipes the face of Jesus, a nurse cares for a homeless man brought into the ER, washing away blood and dirt from his eyes and face. 

“It’s the nurse who’s at the bedside when that patient is suffering, and it’s nurses who witness the pain that they’re going through,” Flanigan said.

A Nurse’s Way of the Cross was previously held at St. Mary’s Hospital Chapel in Troy before its closure in 2016. Angela Sheehan, who was Director of the Faith Community/Parish Nursing program at St. Mary’s, got the idea to start the presentation from the book “Prayer in Nursing” by Mary Elizabeth O’Brien, which included the story excerpts read at each station. 

The story excerpts are the same each year, with the occasional modification. During the pandemic, the 14th station (Jesus is placed in the tomb) was updated to a story about the nurses who cared for COVID-19 patients, being there for them since no family or friends could visit.

Flanigan hopes that nurses who attend are reminded of why they chose their profession.

“There’s no magic to doing this nurse’s Stations of the Cross, but it’s very meaningful, you know,” Flanigan said. “Once you do it, you’re kind of hooked.”