San Antonio funeral home raises 50-foot cross to pay tribute to COVID-19 victims on Easter
Cross weighs 3 tons, allows visitors to pay respects this Easter without leaving vehicle
David Ibañez, Web - Managing Editor
SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio funeral home erected a huge cross Friday in honor of people who have died of the coronavirus across the country.
Mission Park raised a 50-foot cross weighing 3 tons on the grounds of Mission Park South in the 1700 block of Southeast Military Drive.
According to a news release, the reason behind the large cross was to make it possible for visitors to Mission Park to pay their respects this Easter without the need to leave their vehicles.
At the foot of the cross, a permanent memorial marker carries the inscription, “In the midst of heartbreak we are not alone. This memorial honors our mothers, fathers, grandparents, sisters, brothers, children and grandchildren so suddenly taken from our lives.”
“Because this is an Easter like no other, we placed this monument as a symbol of prayer and devotion to those taken from us during this global pandemic. This will be a lasting place for reflection and reverence established Easter week of 2020,” said Dick Tips, chairman and CEO of Mission Park Funeral Chapels and Cemeteries.
Mission Park last week unveiled its first-ever drive-in funeral theater to allow funerals to take place while still maintaining the state mandate of social distancing.
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March.