Today is the feast of Bl. Alvaro of Zamora, "a major figure in the reform of the Dominican Order in Spain".
"He also built 'station' chapels, each representing a scene from Our Lord's passion, and has therefore been credited with originating devotion to the Stations of the Cross in the West, but this had become widespread with the popularity of pilgrimages to Jerusalem, encouraged by indulgences being attached to them in the fourteenth century."
He was born c.1350, and died c.1434.
His foundation near Córdoba "became a major centre of devotion and learning".
Please click here for an image of Bl. Alvaro of Zamora, pictured with the station chapels.
Click here for the Catholic Encyclopedia's article on the Way of the Cross. Bl. "Alvarez" is among those mentioned in the history of the devotion.
