Cardinal's Jubilee cross wins approval

By Luke Coppen A TOWERINU cross celebrating the Great Jubilee and the life of Cardinal Basil Hume will be erected outside Westminster Cathedral in November.
The 50ft cross, made from oak and reinforced by steel, will fulfil the late Cardinal's desire for a monument putting Christianity at the centre of the millennium celebrations.
The £40,000 cross, which has strong ecumenical backing, is expected to become a focal point for pilgrims and visitors to the Cathedral when it is erected in the plaza shortly before the start of Advent.
Dr John Beynon, chairman of the Westminster Christian Council. said the cross was "a most appropriate way of marking the millennium and
remembering Cardinal Hume".
Fr Michael Seed SA, ecumenical officer of Westminster Diocese, said the cross was a project close to the late cardinal's heart.
"Shortly before his death, the cardinal wrote that `looking prayerfully at the image of Christ dying on the cross is an essential exercise for all who are in search of God'. Through this cross, his message will continue to be heard," he said.
The cross, which is being made in Yorkshire, is expected to return there after the Holy Year, when it will stand permanently in the grounds of Ampleforth Abbey, where Cardinal Hume was abbot from 1963 to 1976.
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