These awe-inspiring life-size Stations of the Cross, designed by Rohn & Associates Design for the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle National Shrine in South Texas, unite earthly humility with divine majesty. Cast in bronze and set within a contemplative garden of native vegetation, thorn bushes, rough-hewn stone, and hand-cut oak crosses from Pennsylvania, the installation evokes the rugged landscape of Calvary. The stones themselves were transported by rail from Austin, grounding the sacred narrative in the natural environment of the region. The result is an outdoor devotional path that is organic, reverent, and deeply moving—inviting pilgrims to walk spiritually alongside Christ on the road to the Cross.
The creation of the Stations was an extraordinary artistic process. Beginning with Rohn artists’ concept drawings, small bronze maquettes were sculpted to refine each scene. From these studies, full-scale wooden figures were painstakingly hand-carved for all fourteen Stations. These sculptures were then used to produce the molds for the final bronze castings. Because of the scale and complexity of the project, each station was cast in sections and later assembled into the dramatic life-size compositions seen today.
Set along a devotional path surrounding the shrine grounds, the Stations form a place of meditation where pilgrims can pause, pray, and contemplate Christ’s Passion. The Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle—one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the United States—welcomes hundreds of thousands of faithful each year who come seeking the intercession of the Mother of God and renewal of faith along this sacred journey of prayer.
