The new 16-ton, 52-foot-tall cross at Holy Land U.S.A. in Waterbury was lit up with 5,000 LED bulbs at a ceremony Sunday night, just in time for Christmas.

History Colorado told 9NEWS this turned the Mount of the Holy Cross into quite the subject of folklore. It held spiritual significance in the community as a religious symbol of Manifest Destiny.

Father Manny, 64, is the first Holy Cross pastor of of non-European descent. He was ordained in his native Philippines and has been a priest of the Diocese of Monterey since 2016 and has been a cha… ...