The Holy Stairs are the stairs Jesus climbed on his way to His trial at the praetorium of Pilate during His Passion. The building is called the Pontifical Sanctuary of the Holy Stairs (Pontificio Santuario della Scala Santa), and includes part of the old Papal Lateran Palace. In 326 AD the staircase was transported from Jerusalem to Rome at the request of Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine.
The 28 steps that make up the staircase can be climbed only on one’s knees.
On November 13, 1893, Pope Leo XIII granted that the faithful who ascend the steps of the Scala Santa on their knees, with a contrite heart, praying and meditating on Our Lord’s Passion, may gain an indulgence of three hundred days for each step. This indulgence is applicable to the souls in Purgatory.
While no special prayer is obligatory, as a convenience to pilgrims, a short prayer is given here for each of the 28 steps. These short prayers are worthy of veneration because they were composed and published in Rome for the use of pilgrims to the original Scala Santa. I have personally adapted the prayers from the Catholic.org website for my own use below.
Preparatory Prayer
O My Jesus! For the salvation of mankind, You allowed Yourself, after having been scourged and crowned with thorns, to be dragged by impious hands on these stairs to be led before Pilate. On these stairs, You, the Innocent One, were condemned for our sins to the most horrible death. 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. Relying fully on the merits of Your Passion, I now offer this devotion for (name intention). Amen.
I recommend that you pause and reflect for 30-60 seconds after each invocation. Sometimes, it can be helpful to picture Our Blessed Lord at the top of the staircase with Pilate, and St. John the Beloved and Our Blessed Mother Mary ascending these steps on either side with you.
1st Step.
O My Jesus! By the anguish of Heart You experienced, on being separated from Your holy mother, Mary, to go to Thy death for my sins, have mercy on me!
2nd Step.
O My Jesus! By the confusion and pain You felt, that caused You to sweat blood in the Garden of Olives, have mercy on me!
3rd Step.
O My Jesus! By the intense grief and anguish that filled Your Sacred Heart on being betrayed by Judas, have mercy on me!
4th Step.
O My Jesus! By the sorrow You felt, when You were chained and mocked as a criminal through the streets of Jerusalem, have mercy on me!
5th Step.
O My Jesus! By the pain You felt, when You were brought before the tribunal and struck in the face, have mercy on me!
6th Step.
O My Jesus! By the patience You exhibited amid the outrages and mockeries of the Roman soldiers throughout the night preceding Thy death, have mercy on me!
7th Step.
O My Jesus! By the cruel insult You endured, when dragged on these Sacred Stairs to be condemned for my sins, have mercy on me!
8th Step.
O My Jesus! By the silence You observed in the presence of those who bore false witness against You, and of Pilate who unjustly condemned You, have mercy on me!
9th Step.
O My Jesus! By the humiliation to which You subjected Yourself amidst the derision of Herod and his court, have mercy on me!
10th Step.
O My Jesus! By the shame You felt on being stripped of Your garments and tied to the pillar to be scourged, have mercy on me!
11th Step.
O My Jesus! By the pain You suffered on being scourged, when Your Sacred Body was torn to shreds, have mercy on me!
12th Step.
O My Jesus! By the torture of the sharp thorns when Your adorable head was pierced, have mercy on me!
13th Step.
O My Jesus! By the patience You exhibited when clothed with purple rags and with a reed in Your hand, You were derided and mocked, have mercy on me!
14th Step.
O My Jesus! By the affliction You felt when You heard the people cry out against You and clamour for Your death, have mercy on me!
15th Step.
O My Jesus! By the humiliation to which You were subject, on being compared with Barabbas, and on seeing that criminal preferred to You, the Saviour of the World, have mercy on me!
16th Step.
O My Jesus! By the Holy Cross You embraced to carry the weight of my sins on the road to Calvary, have mercy on me!
17th Step.
O My Jesus! By the sorrow You felt on meeting Your 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 You and made You fall down while bearing the burden of the Cross on Your shoulders, have mercy on me!
19th Step.
O My Jesus! By the bitterness You experienced, when the gall and vinegar touched Your sacred lips, have mercy on me!
20th Step.
O My Jesus! By the agony You endured, when Your garments were roughly torn from You, have mercy on me!
21st Step.
O My Jesus! By the pain You suffered, when Your Sacred hands and feet were nailed to the cross of Calvary, have mercy on me!
22nd Step.
O My Jesus! By the infinite charity that moved You to pray to Your heavenly Father to forgive them, have mercy on me!
23rd Step.
O My Jesus! By the goodness with which You gave 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 You were tortured on the Cross, have mercy on me!
25th Step.
O My Jesus! By the torment You suffered, on seeing Yourself abandoned by all, have mercy on me!
26th Step.
O My Jesus! By the great Love for me with which Your Sacred Heart was inflamed, on breathing forth Your last sigh, have mercy on me!
27th Step.
O My Jesus! By the boundless kindness You manifested, in permitting Your Sacred Side to be opened with a spear and out forth gushed divine mercy, have mercy on me!
28th Step.
O My Jesus! By the tender condescension with which You permitted Your most Sacred Body to be placed in the arms of Your mother, and afterwards, in the sepulchre, have mercy on me!
Concluding Prayer
O My Jesus! Thank You for allowing me to enter more deeply into Your Passion through the Holy Stairs. May I never forget what You have done for me. Gathering up all of the merits of this devotion, I now offer through them the sorrowful and immaculate heart of our Mother Mary and pray with her: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Prodigal Catholic 
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