Cross of Light a blessing to northern Virginia commuters

Anyone who would like to purchase a Crux Gloria with jump ring should contact the St. Francis de Sales gift shop at cruxgloriagiftshop@gmail.com.

The Virginia foothills most visible celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus, "Crux Gloria," resides along State Route 7 in Purcellville, Virginia, a major primary highway and busy commuter route in northern Virginia.

If you're traveling from Leesburg on Route 7, passing through Purcellville just west of the Hwy 287 Berlin Turnpike exit, you can quickly glance to your right and witness a majestic steel cross sculpture. Within the cross, the figure of Jesus appears to have been shaped by a creative metal cut out. The towering cross, softly lit at night with halogen bulbs, stands on the edge of the now heavily trafficked Route 7. The colossal structure serves as a promise of hope for those many thousands traveling through western Loudoun County and beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Shenandoah Valley.

Called "Crux Gloria” (Cross Glorious in Latin), the sculpture resides at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church on St. Francis Court in Purcellville. No matter what religious beliefs one might avow, the cross impresses with a fantastic beauty, especially at night when the interior of the cross is illuminated, highlighting the outline of Jesus. The lights that brighten its interior automatically turn on every twilight evening and extinguish at each morning sunrise. May God bless all witness to the light of Christ.

The sculptor of the Crux Gloria, Tomas J. Fernandez, was living in Loudoun County and a member of St. Francis de Sales in 1988. He recalls being "literally woken up by God," sometime during that year and being inspired to create the structure. His gaze was directed out through an upper story bedroom window into a horse pasture where stood a blazing cross with pure, powerful and brilliant light flowing through it. "God told me, 'My cross is a cross of light, and I want you to build one," Fernandez said.

Fernandez visualized building a mighty cross on the church grounds overlooking Route 7. He received the approval of the parish and private donations to fund the sculpture. Fernandez remembers the total cost for engineering specifications, steel and assembly, including his labor, as $12,000. Crux Gloria stands 33 feet high, 22 feet across and weighs 17,000 pounds. This sculpting of light within the cross is directly connected to the divine commission and vision of Crux Gloria, which impacted Tomas' spiritual and artistic life forever. "In one touch God can illuminate perspectives you have never considered,” Fernandez said when describing his artistic vision. Such was the case when he contracted this monumental cross. “It is simple and yet profound. A window to see through, the door way, the gate to Heaven. It is a cross of light,” Fernandez said.

The Crux Gloria was erected during an exciting and highly anticipated dedication by St. Francis de Sales on November 21, 1990 celebrating the Feast of Christ the King. On that day the St. Francis de Sales community had their pastor consecrate Crux Gloria. The Feast of Christ the King is observed in the Roman Catholic Church in honor of Jesus Christ as Lord over all creation and falls on the last Sunday of the liturgical year.

Please see Tomas J. Fernandez very powerful three minute video about the forging of the cross here on You Tube: Crux Gloria - Cross of Light
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApG_Opt4HeU

Fernandez remembers requesting the church leaders to install the cross in seven feet of steel encased in a massive block of concrete. This was done in advance of building the new church that was already in the planning stages. The new St. Francis de Sales Church opened in close proximity during June 1992 and replaced the first one room brick church built in 1921 and located on Main Street in Purcellville.

According to former Business Manager at St. Francis de Sales, Diane P. Morano, the cross was refurbished in 2010 with the help of architects and engineers of the parish. Ted Welti, a parishioner, oversaw the refurbishing. The work took over one month and included sand blasting, welding, electrical work and painting. The repair effort cost over $10,000 and was chiefly paid for by donations from parishioners, with half from one donor. Since that time only the solar sensor has required repair.

Tomas Fernandez has also sculpted crosses and spiritual statuary for two other churches in Loudoun County; St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in Leesburg and St. David's Episcopal Church in Ashburn.

About Saint Francis de Sales Catholic Church
The parish consists of over 1,400 registered households (over 6,900 people) and resides at 37730 St. Francis de Sales Court in Purcellville. The parish community is diverse and includes a large number of young families, seniors and middle age empty nesters. All are invited to participate as Eucharistic Ministers of Holy Communion (EMCs), lectors, altar servers and ushers at daily and holy day Masses, as well as at Sunday Masses.

About Tomas J. Fernandez
Mr. Fernandez is a Christian visual artist with an overwhelming heart for God and an ability to capture the beauty he admires in God’s creation. His ability to transcend his medium is profound as he sculpts each canvas with vibrant colors and textures. His works have traveled the globe, finding their way into a multitude of collections both public and private, including the Presidential Library, schools, churches, abbeys and retreat centers. Mr. Fernandez can be reached at tomasjfernandez@cs.com.

Special Note: The Crux Gloria sculptor, Tomas Fernandez, would like to know what the cross has meant to the State Route 7 commuters who pass through Loudoun County. Mr. Fernandez invites readers to share their personal insights by emailing Mark Gunderman at gunderman2001@aol.com.

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