Cross in the Woods
Overview
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
shrine located at 7078 M-68
M-68 (Michigan highway)
M-68 is an east–west state trunkline highway located in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The western terminus of the highway begins four miles east of the Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan and ends a few blocks from Lake Huron in Rogers City...
in Indian River, Michigan
Indian River, Michigan
Indian River is an unincorporated community in Cheboygan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place for statistical purposes and is not legally recognized as a municipality. The population was 2,008 at the 2000 census....
. It was declared a national shrine by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic...
(USCCB) on September 15, 2006. With the largest crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
in the world (31 feet high for the statue), it has become one of the most famous and most frequently visited shrines in Michigan. The highlight of the shrine is a large wooden cross and bronze figure of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
. The site also includes outdoor and indoor churches, numerous smaller shrines, and a nun doll museum.