The Scala Santa Devotion

The Scala Santa, or Holy Stairs, are traditionally venerated as the steps that Our Lord Jesus Christ ascended during His Passion as He was led to Pontius Pilate's praetorium in Jerusalem.

According to ancient tradition, these marble steps were brought to Rome in the fourth century by Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine. Sanctified by the footsteps of the Savior, they remain preserved and venerated today at the Scala Santa, located near the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral church of the Bishop of Rome.

For centuries, the faithful have ascended these 28 steps on their knees, in prayerful remembrance of Christ's suffering and humility during His Passion.

During the nineteenth century, it became customary in various parts of the Church to construct stairways modeled after the Scala Santa in Rome, so that the faithful might practice this devotion without traveling abroad. One of the earliest such replicas in North America was erected in 1891 at the Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Québec, Canada. Like the original in Rome, these stairs are located indoors and were designed to foster meditation on the Passion of Christ.

Indulgences

On November 13, 1893, Pope Leo XIII granted a spiritual favor to the faithful who ascend the Scala Santa on their knees, with a contrite heart, while praying and meditating on the Passion of Our Lord. According to the discipline in force at that time, an indulgence of three hundred days for each step was granted, applicable to the souls in Purgatory.

While no particular prayers are strictly required for gaining the indulgence, a series of short prayers traditionally associated with each of the 28 steps has long been provided for the benefit of pilgrims. These prayers are especially venerable, having been composed and published in Rome for use by those ascending the original Scala Santa.

Preparatory Prayer
(Note: While this prayer is not part of the original Scala Santa devotion, it is an introduction to the Sacred Stairs which begin on the first straight step.)

O merciful Jesus!

For the salvation of mankind, You did submit to the suffering of the scourging and crowning with thorns; You did allow Yourself to be dragged by impious hands on these stairs to be led before Pilate. I desire to venerate with deep respect the bloodstained traces of Your Divine feet, and I humbly beg You, by the merits of Your Passion, to grant, that I may one day ascend to the Throne of Glory, where You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Ghost forever and ever.

Amen.

Prayer for each of the 28 steps
(Note: A Hail Mary and an invocation to your Patron Saint may be added to each step.)

1st Step.
O My Jesus! By the anguish of heart Thou didst experience, on separating from Thy most holy mother, to go to Thy death, have mercy on me!

2nd Step.
O My Jesus! By the confusion Thou didst feel and that caused Thee to sweat blood in the Garden of Olives, have mercy on me!

3rd Step.
O My Jesus! By the intense grief that filled Thy heart on seeing Thyself betrayed by the perfidious Judas, have mercy on me!

4th Step.
O My Jesus! By the confusion Thou didst feel, when led as a malefactor through the streets of Jerusalem, have mercy on me!

5th Step.
O My Jesus! By the sweetness Thou didst show, when brought before the tribunal and struck in the face, have mercy on me!

6th Step.
O My Jesus! By the patience Thou didst exhibit amid the outrages and mockeries, of which Thou wert the object throughout the night preceding Thy death, have mercy on me!

7th Step.
O My Jesus! By the cruel insult Thou didst endure, when dragged many times on the Sacred Stairs, have mercy on me!

8th Step.
O My Jesus! By the silence Thou didst observe in the presence of those who bore false witness against Thee, and of the iniquitous Pilate who unjustly condemned Thee, have mercy on me!

9th Step.
O My Jesus! By the humiliation to which Thou didst subject Thyself amidst the derision of Herod and his court, have mercy on me!

10th Step.
O My Jesus! By the shame Thou didst feel on being stripped of Thy garments and tied to the pillar to be scourged, have mercy on me!

11th Step.
O My Jesus! By the pain Thou didst suffer on being scourged, when Thy body was all covered with wounds and bruises, have mercy on me!

12th Step.
O My Jesus! By the torture of the sharp thorns, wherewith Thy adorable head was pierced, have mercy on me!

13th Step.
O My Jesus! By the patience Thou didst exhibit when, clothed with purple rags and with a reed in Thy hand, Thou wert derided and treated as a mocking, have mercy on me!

14th Step.
O My Jesus! By the affliction Thou didst feel when Thou didst hear the people cry out against Thee, and clamor for Thy death, have mercy on me!

15th Step.
O My Jesus! By the humiliation to which Thou wert subject, on being compared with Barabbas, and on seeing that criminal preferred to Thine adorable person, have mercy on me!

16th Step.
O My Jesus! By the resignation wherewith Thou didst embrace the Cross, and proceed with it upon the road to Calvary, have mercy on me!

17th Step.
O My Jesus! By the sorrow Thou didst feel on meeting Thy most holy Mother, and on witnessing the anguish of her heart, have mercy on me!

18th Step.
O My Jesus! By the excessive weariness that overcame Thee, while bearing the burden of the cross on Thy shoulders, have mercy on me!

19th Step.
O My Jesus! By the bitterness Thou didst experience, when the gall and vinegar touched Thy lips, have mercy on me!

20th Step.
O My Jesus! By the agony Thou didst endure, when Thy garments were roughly torn from Thee, have mercy on me!

21st Step.
O My Jesus! By the pain Thou didst suffer, when fastened with great nails to the cross of Calvary, have mercy on me!

22nd Step.
O My Jesus! By the infinite charity that moved Thee to forgive Thine executioners and pray to Thy heavenly Father for them, have mercy on me!

23rd Step.
O My Jesus! By the goodness with which Thou didst give paradise to the penitent thief, and Mary unto John, as his Mother, have mercy on me!

24th Step.
O My Jesus! By the burning thirst with which Thou wast tortured on the gibbet of the Cross, have mercy on me!

25th Step.
O My Jesus! By the torment Thou didst suffer, on seeing Thyself abandoned by all, have mercy on me!

26th Step.
O My Jesus! By the great love for me with which Thy Divine Heart was inflamed, on breathing forth Thy last sigh, have mercy on me!

27th Step.
O My Jesus! By the boundless kindness Thou didst manifest, in permitting Thy side to be opened with a spear, have mercy on me!

28th Step.
O My Jesus! By the tender condescension with which Thou didst permit Thy most sacred body to be placed in the arms of Thy mother, and afterwards in the sepulchre, have mercy on me!

Printable Catholic Prayer PDFs