Indian River's Crucified Christ

In April I am featuring a few post cards of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. To begin, I recall a site near my former home in Northern Michigan -- the 7- ton bronze cast of the crucified Jesus that hangs from a 55-foot tall redwood cross in Indian River, Michigan. I remember visiting the gift shop there but not the massive cross. I bought this card there. Why I didn't visit the cross is lost in time, thus another mystery.

The cross, located in the Cross In The Woods Catholic Shrine, was erected in 1954. The sculpture was created by Marshall M. Fredericks and added to the wood cross in 1959. The sculpture measures an impressive 22 feet wide and 31 feet high.

An impressive picture of the crucifix, taken from beneath the sculpture, can be seen over at Scott Richert's Catholic Blog.

Each year thousands of people visit The Cross In The Woods, not only to view the stunning crucifix but also to attend outdoor Mass. On the grounds one can visit the All Faiths Gift Shop, statues of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Peregrine (the Cancer Saint), Our Lady of the Highway and the 14 Stations of the Cross.

The grounds are also the site of the world's largest Nun Doll Museum.

To see the doll museum click on these links: http://www.crossinthewoods.com/museum.htm and

http://www.fishweb.com/maps/cheboygan/indianriver/shrine/page3.html

In 1964, Sally Rogalski's donated 230 dolls to the Shrine with the only instruction, "that no admission charge would ever be asked, so that people, rich and poor alike, would be able to see them". Sally wanted to document the traditional habits of American nuns to preserve the rich history of the Catholic Church and what were once every day folk dress of Europeans. Today the museum has 525 dolls.