By John Murray
Peter Bearce worked on a section of the massive new Holy Land cross inside Pisani Steel yesterday afternoon in Naugatuck. Bearce is the shop foreman at Pisani Steel, and said the construction of the 55 foot tall cross has been a daunting challenge due to the length and weight of the piece.
Gisuppe Pisani, the owner of Pisani Steel, was texting back and forth with Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary Friday afternoon, and meeting with Industrial Riggers to plan the transport, installation and celebration of the cross atop Holy Land. At the moment, and weather remains a huge factor, the cross will be loaded onto a truck in sections on December 18th.
On the morning of December 19th the sections will be transported up the hill to Holy Land and assembled on site. In the morning of December 20th, when the winds are mild, the cross will be hoisted into the air and bolted into place. Afterwards the electricians will hook up the electricity to the internal lighting system, and on December 22nd (Sunday), there will be an afternoon mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church at 309 South Main Street in downtown Waterbury, followed by the official lighting. After the mass the plan is to walk to Maloney Magnet School (which has an unencumbered view of Holy Land) and celebrate the official lighting of the cross in the parking lot of the school. All plans are subject to change due to wind and weather.
An employee at Pisani Steel grinds a welded piece of steel yesterday afternoon in Naugatuck.