Check out the video of the giant underwater crucifix!
Video Credit: Little Star TV
A giant underwater crucifix with the figure of Jesus Christ attached to it drew hundreds out to a frozen Lake Michigan on Saturday with the hopes of catching a glimpse of the rare spectacle.
The 11 ft statue of Christ on the cross – the only such monument placed under fresh water in the world – is around 260 yards from the shore at Petoskey, Michigan.
Hundreds headed to the town, near the US-Canada border, on Saturday to gaze at the stunning relic through a hole carved through 5 ft of dense ice.
The tragic story behind the 1850 lb marble statue – which is placed 22 ft under in the murky depths of the Great Lake – dates all the way back to 1956.
It was then that it was bought following a tragic farming accident in the nearby town of Bad Axe that left a 15-year-old boy dead, according to Inside Edition.
His grieving family purchased it from craftsmen in Italy for £2,500 – which in today’s money would be worth $23,135.
But they refused to keep it after the cross was damaged during shipment across the Atlantic.
The stunning statue then made its way into the hands of a local diving club following an insurance sale in 1962.
Members then gained permission to lower it into the lake as a tribute to a diver who had recently lost his life in nearby Torch Lake.
It has since gone on to become a touching symbol of remembrance to all those who have lost their lives at sea.
This weekend’s viewing saw 600 people take to the ice to look at the statue and pay their respects, according to WPBN.
Some ventured from as far as Texas and Alaska to brave the cold and view the crucifix.
It is the first public viewing of the statue from the surface since 2015 – the last time weather conditions allowed for people to walk out onto the ice.
The statue is expected to last underwater for a total of 200 years before erosion sets in.
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