Emaus - 130 Years of the Blessing of the Stations of the Cross made by Abbot Pfanner Founder of the CPS and the CMM
By Sr. Caroline Mjomba, CPS Statue of Abbot Francis Pfanner What a great joy to celebrate every 20 August, on the Feast of St. Bernard the way of the cross that Abbot Francis Pfanner the Founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Precious blood (CPS) and the Congregation of the Mariannhill Missionaries (CMM) made in South Africa in Emaus and this year marks 130 years since the construction. The story of the Emaus Stations of the Cross is a tale of devotion, sacrifice, and spiritual endurance that began with Abbot Francis’ arrival at Chimper’s Nek – Emaus – on 24 April 1894. Three months later, on July 25, 1894, he penned a letter to a priest friend, sharing the completion of the Way of the Cross. The work, which took four weeks, led to the top of a 130-meter high rocky crag that arose from his new mission. Abbot Francis, armed with only primitive tools—a hatchet, a small crowbar, and a machete—carved out the path with his own hands, removing thorns and briars along the way. Fr...