CEBU CITY – A nine-meter Jubilee Cross was inaugurated on Monday, March 15, to mark the 500th year of Christianity.
The towering cross was mounted 250 meters above sea level at Mount Garing in Consolacion town, northern Cebu.
The cross is one of the religious structures forming part of the proposed Shrine of the Divine Mercy where a 130-foot statue of Jesus Christ will also be constructed on top of a podium on the mountain.
Designed by world renowned architect and urban planner Felino Palafox, the statue will be taller than the famous Christ The Redeemer in Rio De Janiero, Brazil.
The Jubilee Cross, on the other hand, is designed by Diocesan priest, Fr. Brian Brigoli. It has ornate trimmings on its side inspired by Baroque art.
The baroque design signifies the Spanish influence and how they brought the Faith to the Philippines, Brigoli said.
At night, the Cross will be lighted up using LED lights that are powered by solar panels.
"When the Spaniards came, they brought baroque influences even in architecture and visual arts," said Brigoli.
The giant cross is 7.5 meters tall but its built-in platform increases its height to nine meters.
Smaller replicas of the Jubilee Cross will be distributed to the hundreds of parishes in the Cebu Archdiocese in time for the celebrations of the 500 years of the First Christian Baptism in April.
Monsignor Ruben Labajo officiated the blessing of the Jubilee Cross in lieu of Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma.
During the Mass, Labajo said that the celebrations of the 500th Year of Christianity, the cross symbolizes the wooden cross mounted by explorer Ferdinand Magellan in Cebu.
Labajo said the natives at the time believed that the cross will protect them from calamities and harm.
Labajo added the mounting of the cross started the devotion to the Santa Cruz or Holy Cross likened as a patron saint not just in Cebu but in other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, the full design of Divine Mercy Shrine and 130-foot Jesus Christ of the Divine Mercy statue will be done by December of 2021.
Construction is expected to start in early 2022 and will last for about a year, said Architect Stephen Ralota, representing Palafox of the Palafox Architecture Group, Inc.
Found at the lower portion of Mt. Garing within the 6-hectare property are human-size replicas of the 14 stations of the "Way of the Cross."