Cross on Mont Royal ( French Croix du mont Royal ) - a monument located on the north-eastern side of Mont Royal , Montreal .
History
The first cross on Mont Royal was put in 1643 by the founder of Montreal, French officer Paul Chaomed de Maisonneu, in gratitude to the Virgin Mary for getting rid of the flood that threatened Montreal.
A modern steel cross with a height of 31.4 meters and a weight of 26 tons was installed in 1924 at the initiative of the Society of St. John the Baptist , which held an action in Quebec , collecting money for the erection of the cross. Since 1924, the cross belongs to the city authorities.
In 1992, the cross was equipped with fiber-optic illumination, which made it possible to illuminate the cross in the dark. In 1992, when the 350th anniversary of the founding of Montreal was celebrated, a memorial plaque was installed on the cross, in which a time capsule was mounted. On the commemorative plaque are inscriptions of children and their drawings of the future Montreal in 2142, when the capsule should be removed.
At the turn of 2008 and 2009, the cross was disconnected from the backlight for five months, when LED illumination was installed on it. Today, the cross is highlighted in various colors, informing about certain events. In normal times, the cross is lit in white, after the death of the Pope and before the election of the new Pope, the cross is lit in purple. In the first case, the city authorities are responsible for lighting; in cases involving the Roman Pontiff, the responsibility is vested in the Archdiocese of Montreal . On the day of John the Baptist , when the national holiday of Quebec is celebrated , the cross lights up in blue. Sometimes in memory of those killed by AIDS on the cross include a red color of illumination. On March 28, 2009, the cross was turned off for 1 hour during the Earth Hour global campaign.
The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI created a dilemma: what color to light the cross before the election of a new pope. It was decided to illuminate the cross in white until the choice of the pope (on March 13, 2013, Francis was elected).
Links
- History of the Cross (Fr.)
- History of the Cross (Fr.)