Via Crucis of Lourdes, Religious sculpture group at Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, France

The Via Crucis of Lourdes is a monumental Way of the Cross on the Espélugues hill, with 115 gilded cast-iron figures about 2 m tall made by the Durenne foundry for Maison Raffl. Its fifteen stations wind some 1,500 m through trees and rocks, climbing to the 13th and descending faster. A 28-step stone stair, recalling Rome's Scala Sancta, leads to the first station.

The hill was bought by the Missionaries of Garaison in 1869 for 4,000 francs. The first station was blessed on 6 October 1901 before a procession of twenty-five prelates, and the Via Crucis was inaugurated on 14 and 15 September 1912. The 115 cast-iron figures were made by the Durenne foundry of Sommevoire for Maison Raffl; dioceses and foreign nations donated most stations, the 4th German, the 10th Hungarian, the 14th Italian. A fifteenth station, the Resurrection, was added in 1958.

The stations serve as a space where pilgrims pause to contemplate and pray over the Passion narrative. Visitors often touch the cast iron figures or kneel in quiet devotion at each stopping point.

The path with all fourteen stations remains accessible year-round and follows a clearly marked route. The uphill walk is manageable at a steady pace and requires no special skills or fitness level.

The 115 gilded cast-iron figures were made by the Durenne foundry of Sommevoire for Maison Raffl. Individual stations were donated by dioceses and foreign nations: the fourth by Germans, the tenth by Hungarians and the fourteenth by Italians. A 28-step stone stair, recalling Rome's Scala Sancta, leads to the first station.