The Great Cross
Saint Augustine, United States
This Great Cross marks the approximate site where in 1565 the Cross of Christianity was first permanently planted in what is now the United States.<br><br> It is a beacon of the faith to remind all those who pass this way, by land or by sea, of the religious beginning of our Nation.<br><br> The Cross was erected by the Diocese of St. Augustine as the climax of the mission's 400th anniversary observances 1965-1966<br><br> Father Lopez, first pastor described the landing and settlement here on September 8, 1565: "As I had come ashore the evening before I took a cross and went to meet (Captain General Menedez) singing the hymn <u>'Te Deum Laudamus'. </u>The general, followed by all who accompanied him, marched up to the cross, knelt and kissed it. A large number of indians watched these proceedings and imitated all they saw done."