Malibu sculptor Jon Krawczyk’s 14-foot-high stainless steel memorial cross for the victims of 9/11 received a fitting send-off Tuesday evening at Bluffs Park. A crowd of nearly 100 well-wishers gathered to hear Krawczyk talk about the inspiration and meaning behind his work of art.
The next day, Krawczyk took the cross on a cross-country tour that will include at least 10 official stops, including the sites of the 9/11 attacks and several fire stations. The final destination will be St. Peter’s Church, located a block from Ground Zero in Manhattan.
Nearly a dozen representatives from Malibu Fire Stations 70 and 88 were at Tuesday's event. Father Bill Kerze from Our Lady of Malibu blessed the cross with holy water.
"I’m very honored to be invited here to bless this cross," Kerze said. "For Christians, the cross is the symbol. My prayer is that this cross will be an instrument of peace, understanding and reconciliation; an instrument in which people who are grieving can receive consolation. I hope people who have been hurt can be opened to the goodness of human beings.”
The sculpture is an artistic version of a Christian cross, and it will be polished to a mirror finish once it reaches St. Peter's. It is accompanied by three steel remnants from the Twin Towers that will be attached later. The names of all the 9/11 victims will be entered into a stainless steel book at the base of the cross. There is also a slot for people to drop notes with their wishes and prayers. A number of Malibu residents offered their notes.
"I think this is a blessing," said Wailani O’Herlihy, a Malibu resident who attended the event with her daughter. "They're carrying this across the United States and taking it to New York. I hope it blesses a lot of people across the U.S.”
Days after the dust cleared from the Twin Towers attack, rescuers discovered a 20-foot-tall steel crossbeam (shaped like a Christian cross) stuck in the ground at Ground Zero. Its symbolism was not lost on those clearing the rubble. The I-beam “cross” from the World Trade Center, also known as the Ground Zero Cross, was mounted on a concrete pillar in 2003. It became a shrine, a place for mourners to write the names of the deceased and a place to hold services.
It was moved in 2006 to St. Peter's during construction. Officials will soon move it again to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at Ground Zero. Krawczyk was asked by a St. Peters’ parishioner if he could create a replacement for it.
Krawczyk has a personal reason for wanting to build a 9/11 memorial. He is a native of Morristown, N.J. and 25 people from his high school were killed in the attacks. The following inscription will appear on Krawczyk’s finished piece:
The cross is a symbol of hope. It speaks of life’s journey and to life’s limitless potential. For the innocent, whose lives were taken from them, this cross stands as a memorial. For the courageous, who faced death so others might live, this cross stands as a tribute. For all of us, walking the streets today, this stands as an invitation to reflect on who we are and the people we believe we can be one day
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