World's Tallest Free-Standing Cross (The Great Cross) (Saint Augustine, Florida)

USA / Florida / Saint Augustine / Saint Augustine, Florida
 interesting place  Add category
A free-standing steel cross measuring just over 260 feet tall. However, there is a granite cross in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain (the Basilica of the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen) which is taller.

The Cross weighs 70 tons and consists of 200 stainless steel panels in various sizes. The loftiest sections of the Cross contain 1.6 ft. x 10 ft. panels 3/16 in. thick, while 4 ft. x 10 ft. and 5/16 in. thick panels cover the foundational sector. To prevent potential damage from hurricane force winds, workers solidified the lower 65 feet of the Great Cross by tightly filling the inside with concrete. At night, lights mounted from the ground provide illumination of the Great Cross. The base of the Cross is made of granite slabs. Several of the slabs have names inscribed as memorials from family or other loved ones.

It was erected at the direction of Archbishop Joseph P. Hurley, then Bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine. His Excellency Casimiro Morcillo, Archbishop of Madrid, dedicated it during the diocesan Eucharistic Congress of October 1966. Like the Prince of Peace Church, the Great Cross celebrates the Four Hundredth anniversary of the Mission of Nombre de Dios and the City of St. Augustine.

» www.missionandshrine.org/great_cross.htm
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   29°54'15"N   81°18'48"W

Comments

  • The shrine site in Florida says that the cross is 208 feet tall. Are you including the base here or is this a typo?
This article was last modified 12 years ago