Huge “ecumenical crosses” will be built on the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway in the central Philippines to mark the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the country this year.
Father Mhar Balili, head of the preparations for the Archdiocese of Cebu’s celebrations, said negotiations with those managing the bridge have already started two weeks ago.
The priest said eight crosses will be placed on the two towers of the bridge that link mainland Cebu to the island of Mactan.
The eight crosses will be 40 meters high on each of the tower’s sides and will be lit at night, visible to the public on land, air, and sea.
“The cross is a symbol of the celebration,” said Father Balili. “The cross is ecumenical because it does not have a ‘corpus’ (body). It’s a plain lighted cross on the pillars,” he said.
Balili said the project will be launched on April 15 at the start of the celebrations.
Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu will lead the blessing from a boat with the mayors of Cebu City and Cordova town.
Father Balili said the project is “significant” for the bridge builders who employed contractors and consultants from Portugal and Spain.
Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan fought and died in a skirmish with the natives of Mactan headed by its chieftain Lapulapu shortly upon his arrival in Cebu.
Before Magellan’s death, his chaplain, Father Pedro Valderrama, baptized Rajah Humabon and his subjects on April 14, 1521.
Humabon, later baptized as Don Carlos, sought Magellan’s help against Lapulapu.
