History of The Cross
Located on Mt. Zion Road, Elk County, "The Cross on the Hill" is a place of pilgrimage and somehow in God's mystery tied to Medjugorje. In Holy Scripture Mt. Zion means 'God's Dwelling Place'.
Go up onto a high mountain
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
Cry out at the to of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
And say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Is 40: 9-11
Signs and Wonders first drew us to the site of "The Cross on the Hill". Those same signs and wonders that occur at places of pilgrimage like Fatima, Lourdes, and Medjugorje.
It all began in 1987 a year declared by Pope John Paul II as a Marian year. A small number of folks visiting the Hill started to experience a miracle known as "The Miracle of the Dancing Sun". Pilgrims who visit shrines like Fatima, Lourdes ad now Medjugorje experience this miracle. Clergy were called in to discuss what was happening. What could this sign in the heavens mean.
Over a span of a year we met on the Mt. Zion hilltop three times. On our third visit it was discerned that the Lord wanted a Cross put up in this area. Within weeks at noon on August 27th a cross measuring thirteen feet high eight feet across was erected. (The number eight means straight from Heaven and thirteen often means God's Love). The moment the Cross went up, Elk in the valleys below and off the various mountain tops began to bugle their love call. This continued for an hour while the twelve or thirteen folks present prayed a rosary in thanksgiving. A sign of confirmation that we were doing God's will. Since that day, signs, wonders and healings of body and soul have continued to occur.
On the third day of the apparitions in Medjugorje, while the seers were climbing down the hill, Our Lady appeared and said: "Peace, peace, peace and only peace! Peace must reign between man and God, and between all people!"
The Cross is a gift of Love for all faiths. People who visit say they feel God's presence and His peace at the foot of The Cross. The view is of the vast expanse mountains and beautiful valleys that make up the southern part of Elk County. All are welcome to visit The Cross between dawn and dusk seven days a week.
Ecumenism, inter-faith relations has been a major concept from day one and continues today. Our hope is in the not too distant future, to build a Chapel of Reconciliation. Reconciliation between God and man, between Church and Church, and between man and man.
Thousands of folks visit The Cross each year: youth groups, church groups,, families, and individuals from over thirty three states and sixteen nations this year alone. A visitor book for prayers, comments and suggestions is kept at The Cr5oss, We are including some of those pages at the end of this text.
One comment worthy of note came from Robert Dolence Deputy Secretary for Mineral Resources Management under the Gov. Tom Ridge. A coal company wanted to strip-mine the are of The Cross so we appealed to DEP to refuse that permit. His comment in part: "It is perhaps fortuitous, for a number of reasons that The Cross was erected such that it oversees the proposed mining area. We all need to be reminded now and again that we are being watched over and we must be accountable for our action. Such oversight need not intimidate us into passivity, e can motivate us to do the vest we can..." Thank you for sharing with Governor Ridge the unique story of the Mt. Zion area and its special attributes.
The visionaries of Medjugorje were told that Our Lord would pick various places around the world and give signs and wonders to let people know that the messages He is giving us at Medjugorje through Blessed Mother Mary are true. Perhaps this is one of those places. The messages of Love, Peace and Reconciliation are the same.
The Cross is now over 20 years old. We are purchasing the one and one-tenth acre that it sits on through the generosity of a few individuals.
"The peace Jesus brings is peace that touches and changes human hearts thus tr4ansforming the world." Our Lady of Medjugorje