Historic cross built for Pope John Paul II's Philadelphia visit is being relocated to Malvern
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A well-known cross that has stood on City Avenue for 45 years will soon be on the move.
Workers are moving the large white cross at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary on Thursday. The cross has stood at the property on the corner of City and Lancaster avenues since 1979.
The Roman Catholic church sold that property to Main Line Health in 2019 and the seminary has since relocated to Gwynedd Mercy University's campus.
On Thursday, workers will use a crane to lift the cross off its pedestal and then onto a truck.
From there, it will go to the Malvern Retreat House, where it will be restored and resurrected on that property.
The massive cross was created for the visit of Pope John Paul II's 1979 visit to Philadelphia and stood overlooking the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at Logan Square. That's where one million people attended a mass celebrated by the pope.
In the decades since the pope's visit, the cross has become a landmark for drivers and community members.
Albert Baylor grew up in the area and says the cross was a big part of his childhood.
"It was always a landmark that you look forward at that age," Baylor said. "When you are little, you always try to tie into something. Going up to my grandmother's, I get to see the cross. Going up City Avenue, I get to see the cross."
Michael Norton, the president of the Malvern Retreat House, said they're planning to refurbish the cross and place it on the property by the fall.
"This landmark is going to continue to live," Norton said. "That was most important. This cross will continue to live in the Philadelphia Archdiocese."
Baylor, who also works for Malvern Retreat House, says the community will have to get adjusted to the new normal.
"You're going to look for it and be like, 'Wow, it's not there anymore,'" Baylor said.
