For a change I have off work on Good Friday, so I am considering taking my daughter (5-years-old) to the Stations of the Cross. I’ve never been (I’ve always had to work that day) and was wondering how long it is. In particular, I am trying to figure out if my 5-year-old (who can sit though our normal Mass of about an hour, but gets a little antsy at near the end) would be able to sit thought it.
Thanks
Well, there are 14 stations, so it depends on the length of the meditation on each one. The meditations are usually a paragraph or two. My parish uses the meditations written by St. Alphonsus Ligouri and the service lasts about half an hour.
Same here, depends upon which priest we have too but the at the most its lasted 30 minutes.
Do you mean the Stations of the Cross or the actual Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion, the Church’s official liturgy? If you mean the Stations, that should probably take about half an hour to 45 minutes at the most. If you are talking about the actual Good Friday liturgy, that can take anywhere from one hour to an hour and a half, at the most.
Thanks everyone. To answer someone’s question, I am only asking about The Stations of the Cross… and 30-45 minutes is easy in that case (like I said, she is used to Mass for an hour each week).
The Stations of the Cross on Good Friday are usually at 3:00 PM. And it usually lasts about 30 minutes. The tabernacle will be empty.
Just fyi for the original OP, there isn’t a whole lot of “sitting” during the Stations. Its a lot of standing, genuflecting and kneeling. Its more of an aerobic workout, lol.
Actually, the General Intercession part of the Good Friday has a lot of movement. “Let us kneel”; “let us stand.” 
The time is strictly a local matter. Mine does the stations at 7PM.
Agreed with the 30-45 minutes if it is inside a church. If you are doing it outside, it could be an hour or more (but the crowd walks a lot, so that breaks it up).
Check to see if your diocese has the Stations outside. Many dioceses will have them at Catholic cemeteries on Good Friday…there may also be a retreat center or the like near you that host them outdoors too.
Personally, I like going to them at the Franciscan Monastery in DC. (If you are near DC, they also have a VERY impressive Good Friday service as well…culminating with the burial of Christ in the tomb (an exact replica of the actual one). myfranciscan.org/
Stations of the Cross and Benediction on Friday evenings at my parish are an hour.
Are you sure about that? Please check your Holy Week Schedule.
On Good Friday, (and this is the day the OP was referring to) the Blessed Sacrament has been removed from the tabernacle. All of the parishes that I have been a member of have Stations of the Cross in the afternoon on Good Friay- usually 3:00 PM traditionally believed to be the hour in which Jesus died. The other Fridays in lent, the Stations of the Cross are held in the evening. In our parish it is at 5:30 followed by Benediction. Our previous pastors did not have Benediction following the Stations of the Cross (buy we did have Mass).
However, on Good Friday, there is to be no benediction.
3:00 is the usual time for the Good Friday service of reading of the Passion and Veneration of the Cross and Holy Communion (this is not a mass). I have never heard of a parish having stations at 3:00. When does your parish do the Good Friday liturgy?
7:00 pm
When I was in grade school in the 50s, the Good Friday Liturgy started at 3pm.
The parish where I am now has stations at noon on Good Friday and the liturgy at 7pm.
Yes, I am sure about that. Why would you ask that? 