Good Friday Pilgrimage to Bless Proposal for Mountain Crucifix

by Admin · March 26, 2018

Christians in the Eastern Cape will make a Good Friday pilgrimage in support of plans for a huge crucifix proposed for a mountain in Grahamstown.

Organised by the King Lobengula Foundation, the pilgrimage will re-enact the Paschal mystery as it leads up to Mount Zion, where the 35m-high Christ the Saviour crucifix will be erected.

The aim of the procession is to bless the mountain in preparation for the crucifix, inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.

Organisers hope that the monument will capture the spirit of ecumenism and solidarity among all Christians.

Statue of Kaolin

Sizwe Mda, chairman of the King Lobengula Foundation, which intends to build the monument, said the statue will be made with kaolin, which is mined in Grahamstown.

The Christ the Saviour crucifix will be the centrepiece of a heritage route project to honour local Xhosa heroes and marginalised people who lived in the area, he told The Southern Cross.

Mr Mda, the great-great-grandson of King Lonbengula — the last king of the Ndebele in Zimbabwe — said the statue would help heal the wounds of the past and attract more tourists to the area.

Last year’s pilgrimage, led by Franciscan Father Peter Wilson, saw local children performing the 14 Stations of the Cross up to the top of the hill of Mount Zion, Makana’s Kop.

Pilgrims will meet at 9:30 on Good Friday, March 30, at St Peter Claver Catholic church in Raglan Road, Grahamstown, to begin at 10:00. Clothes and shoes suitable for hiking are recommended.

For more information and to donate to the Christ the Saviour monument, contact Sizwe Mda on