Cross in the Woods

In April 1946, Bishop Francis J. Haas of the Diocese of Grand Rapids searched for land to establish a new church in Indian River for parishioners who were traveling great distances to attend Mass. Mr. James J. Harrington, a resident of Burt Lake, offered to help locate land for the new church which would put in place the first residential priest of Cheboygan County. He came across the undeveloped Burt Lake State Park property and sought to acquire the land, but the Michigan Department of Conservation denied his request.

In June 1946, Father Charles D. Brophy became the administrator of the future church and wanted to name the church after Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, a seventeenth century Mohawk Indian who enjoyed making small crosses and placing them in trees in the woods as shrines. However, he was not able to name the church after her because she had not yet been declared a saint.

Without a church in place yet, the parish held Masses in a town hall. One parishioner, J.J. Harrington, expressed great interest in an outdoor church that he had recently seen. Father Brophy liked the idea of an indoor church for year-round parishioners and an outdoor church for the summer and visitors. The outdoor church could also be seen as a way to attract tourists for the area.

Throughout the summer of 1946, plans for the grounds and the new church were presented, requesting the State Park land. "In May of 1948, the Commission granted them the land for the price of $1.00 and a box of candy for the secretary."[3] The original church was built in a "long house" style and designed by Alden B. Dow, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, to look upon the wooded area that surrounded it. It was completed by Memorial Day weekend of 1949. Today, this area houses the gift shop, main office and the nun doll museum in the lower level.

After discussion with Dow, Father Brophy decided to build the largest wooden crucifix in the world on Calvary Hill, located north of the Long House Chapel. In July 1952, Bishop Babcock granted them permission to begin the project. The foundation of the Cross required a 15-foot (4.6 m) high steel and concrete base which was covered with soil, creating a hill 150 feet (46 m) long, 15 feet (4.6 m) high, and 75 feet (23 m) wide. In the summer of 1952, redwood timber was custom cut with a chain saw from a lumber yard in Oregon and shipped on a railroad flat car. It took two days to assemble the Cross. Cranes lifted it to the foundation August 5, 1954, where it was secured.[3] It stands 55 feet (17 m) tall.[4]

Marshall Fredericks, a renowned Michigan sculptor, agreed to create the figure of Christ for the Cross. The process took four years from sketches to plaster mold. The figure was then cast in bronze at the Kristians-Kunst Metalstobori Foundry in Oslo, Norway. Weighing seven tons and 28 feet (8.5 m) tall from head to toe, it was one of the largest castings to ever be shipped across the Atlantic Ocean. Workers raised the sculpture into place August 9, 1959, and attached to the Cross with 13 bolts 30 inches (760 mm) long and 2 inches (51 mm) in diameter. The formal dedication occurred seven days later.

Originally called the Indian River Catholic Shrine, the site became Cross in the Woods in 1983.

In 1992, because of weather damage, officials decided to clean the figure of Christ. The Jensen Foundation of Art Conservation cleaned, waxed and painted the bronze corpus over a period of several weeks. It has since been waxed by volunteers every two years.

In 1956, the shrine added 28 stairs leading up Calvary Hill to the base of the Cross. These stairs represent the 28 stairs that Jesus climbed to the throne of Pontius Pilate, where he was condemned to death and therefore are named The Holy Stairs.

After 50 years of praying before the Cross only in good weather and using the Long Chapel, seating 250 people, for all other Masses; the parishioners wished for a larger church that would also give year-round visibility of the Cross. On June 27, 1997, the dream became a reality when the shrine dedicated a new church. It holds 1,000 people and has large windows that allow worshipers to view the Cross while participating in Mass.

After submitting a petition to become a national shrine, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops declared The Cross in the Woods as such in 2006. It is one of two national shrines in Michigan (with National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak) and 120 in the United States.[2]